A Fine Mess
by Audrey2419
Summary: A woman from Eric Delko's past returns to Miami. When you add in a serial killer and an FBI Profiler you end up with a mess of huge proportions. E/C... Eventually... Please read and review.
1. Beginnings

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I just wanted to get the disclaimer out there.

This is a multi-chapter story that has been dancing around in my head for the longest time. I don't know if it would have ever gotten published if Kazalene hadn't read it and encouraged me to go for it. The rating might have to go up to M depending on how brutal my serial killer is. Please read and review. Enjoy...

Beginnings

Calleigh Duquesne was not having a good day. It was a mystery how it had happened since she had been in the ballistics lab most of the day. Ballistics was her own private haven and generally put her in a Zen state, but not today. Today had been a bitch. It started out well enough; she and Jake had spent an amazing night together, and then had awakened early to enjoy the sunrise and have coffee together. He had made her giggle at his stupid jokes while they were getting ready for work. He made her heart race; even now after all of the misunderstandings and heartbreak, he still made her feel like a giddy teenager. Jake wasn't the problem, everything there was fine; there was something else bothering her. It wasn't her job, though she was stuck doing paperwork, never her favorite chore, but made even more difficult by her distracted state.

Calleigh ran her hand through her long, blonde hair and shifted in her seat. The paperwork in front of her was forgotten as she ruminated on her day. Her problem _was_ at work. Actually, if you wanted to get specific, her problem was with _someone_ at work. Not to put too fine a point on it, her problem was with Eric who just _happened _to be her best friend. The thing that really had her irritated was that he hadn't even done anything to deserve her ire. He was just really happy these days, and for some reason that had her really irritated.

Two weeks ago out of the blue Eric had met some fantastic woman and was now involved in a relationship with her. Ever since he had started seeing Elizabeth he had been walking around with a perpetual grin on his face. He had also stopped giving Calleigh the long meaningful looks and innuendo laden remarks. She found that she missed the attention that Eric used to lavish on her; she couldn't remember when she had begun to take it for granted. Now he just treated her as his friend and co-worker, and she was depressed about it. All of the self analysis had led Calleigh to one conclusion: she was just a tiny bit jealous of his new girlfriend, and she really didn't like that side of herself.

It wasn't even that she disliked Elizabeth. She had met her a few days after Eric had started seeing her. Elizabeth had come by at lunch to (and Calleigh still couldn't believe this) pick Eric up and take him for a picnic at the beach. It was supposed to have been his day off, but Horatio had called him in when Ryan had been unable to make it to the crime-scene. They had been processing evidence, and Calleigh had been in the print lab with him when an officer had stuck his head in the door.

"_Delko, you have a visitor at reception," the officer had nodded at both of them and left. _

_Eric, with Calleigh in tow had walked up to the reception desk. She had expected to see Eric's mother or one of his sisters, so she was completely unprepared to see the woman who was taking to Melissa, the receptionist on duty. Melissa indicated that Eric was on his way and Elizabeth had turned to watch them approach. She had a wide smile on her face as he had walked up to her and hugged her. He had turned to introduce Calleigh._

"_Calleigh, I'd like to introduce you to Elizabeth Finale, Elizabeth, this is Calleigh Duquesne." _

_Calleigh had looked at the visitor with curiosity. For as long as she had known Eric he had always had his pick of beautiful women, but even she could see that this one was something special. Elizabeth was about 5'7" tall with a perfect figure and long muscled legs. Her face was framed by long curly hair the color of mahogany; her skin was the color of cream. She had high cheekbones and full lips as well as the most unusual eyes she had ever seen; they were gold with green surrounding the iris. _

_Elizabeth looked at the beautiful blonde standing in front of her. She studied Calleigh with a steady gaze. After a second she smiled and said, "You're Calleigh! It's so nice to finally meet you. Eric has told me so much about all of you and it is really nice to be able to put a face with a name."_

"_It's very nice to meet you too, Elizabeth," Calleigh said with a smile. "It's always a pleasure to meet Eric's friends."_

"_Beth, what brings you to the lab," Eric had asked._

_Elizabeth had cocked her head and looked up at Eric. "Well, since you got called in this morning, our plans were postponed, so I just came by to pick you up for an early lunch. I have everything in the car all I need is for you to sneak away with me."_

_Horatio had been walking in their direction and he heard her last statement. "Eric, have you processed the evidence from this morning?"_

"_Ah, yeah H, it's finished. I'm just waiting for trace to finish the analysis."_

"_Why don't you take off for the rest of the day? Mr. Wolfe is here now; he can cover for you. Take the rest of the day and enjoy your weekend. We'll see you on Monday morning."_

Eric had left with Elizabeth, and no one from the lab had seen him all weekend, but when he had come in to work on Monday he had been smiling like he had the world by the tail.

Eric was happy. He deserved to be happy. Calleigh admitted that to herself. She also admitted that she missed all of the longing looks he had given her. She had been fighting her growing attraction for Eric for months now. She was seeing Jake, but wasn't sure how she really felt about him. The passion was there… oh was it ever, but what about love and more importantly trust? That was the rub. Calleigh knew she trusted Eric with her life, but they worked together. The bottom line was she was just too chicken to cross that line, and it was that thought that made her grimace with disgust at herself. Calleigh sighed and rubbed her forehead; she was sick of second guessing her emotions. At least she had Jake. He wasn't perfect, but he did make her pulse race. Maybe that was enough, for now anyway.

* * *

If Calleigh was having a bad day then Eric was having the complete opposite. He was having an amazing day; no, he was having an amazing couple of weeks actually. Ever since Elizabeth had come home on a leave of absence from her job and they had reconnected, he had been feeling great. He had been depressed for months over Calleigh's relationship with Jake and her inability to see that he had feelings for her. He had been contemplating trying to get out and meet someone, maybe move on, and then Elizabeth had come home. She had been the first woman he had really loved, and when they had split he had wondered if he would ever fall in love again. Here they were, eight years later, and she had walked back into his life in the same seamless manner in which she had left it.

Her arrival had pushed thoughts of Calleigh and Jake straight from his head. In fact, Eric couldn't remember when he had worried about them last. He and Calleigh had resumed being "just friends", and she had seemed relieved about his new indifference. He was enjoying being with someone with whom he had so much history. In fact, Eric had been spending all of his free time with Elizabeth. His last weekend off had been spent with her on her grandfather's boat, _The Amphitrite_, somewhere south of Key West. That trip had been fabulous. They had spent the days scuba diving and the nights making up for lost time.

She had changed a lot in the past eight years. The woman she was today was calm, cool, and self-possessed while the girl he remembered had been all fire and passion. They had met in freshman Chemistry class their first day of college at the University of Miami, and had been lab partners that semester. They had spent four very good years together, on and off finally living together by their graduation. Eric remembered all of it fondly. They had traveled together during each summer, and at times Eric had counted them lucky to have made it through college alive. Elizabeth's fearlessness and wild nature had gotten them into some pretty intense situations. If they were together there had been nothing that they wouldn't try, but they had fought constantly and made up as often. Both of them had been equally passionate about life and how to live it to the fullest.

After graduation, he had gone to work for MDPD Search and Rescue, and Elizabeth had gone straight to graduate school. They had talked about getting married and having children; Eric had gone so far as to buy her a ring. He should have known it was too good to last though; everything had fallen apart when she had finished her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and had been offered a job with the FBI.

After the fight to end all fights, she had left him because he had been less than supportive of her career opportunity. He had blamed her for the choice she had made, for ending their relationship, but she had always been a wild thing, in fact that had been a major part of what had attracted him to her in the first place, and, as his mother had told him the day after Elizabeth had left, there were some birds that should never be caged. It took him a few months to understand what his mother had meant, but he had finally realized that as much as he had loved Elizabeth he would have eventually suffocated the very things he had loved most about her, her adventurous spirit and passion for life. Once he understood that he had never blamed her for leaving again. He had just blamed himself for losing her.

Eric didn't want to second-guess his luck, but he laughed to himself thinking that for now at least, his bird had returned to her cage. His mother had been beside herself with joy when he had taken Elizabeth to Sunday dinner that first weekend after she had come home. Now tonight his parents and Elizabeth's grandparents were having a family dinner to celebrate her homecoming and their reunion.

Eric blinked his eyes; he had been lost inside his memories for far too long. If he and Elizabeth were going to meet both their families for that dinner, he'd better get a move on with the evidence sitting on the counter.

Horatio chose that moment to walk into Eric's lab to check on his progress. "Eric, how are you doing with the prints from the Conner case?"

"H, the prints here are just like the prints from the other three scenes, only family members and a few smudged prints that are unusable. What do you think? Do we have a serial killer?"

"Eric, I think we might, the crime scenes are very similar, but without getting the FBI involved, we won't know until we catch him."

Eric looked at Horatio and started to say something but stopped. Horatio noticed and asked, "What is it Eric?"

Eric looked chagrined but asked the question anyway, "H, do you remember Elizabeth? You saw her that day she picked me up for lunch; I want her to look at the evidence."

Horatio had been listening without comment, but Eric's suggestion had him raising his eyebrows in surprise, "Why?" was his only comment.

"H, she was a profiler for the BAU. She didn't want me to say anything to anyone, but since we have bodies piling up I don't think she'll mind. She's on a leave of absence from the Bureau, but I'll bet if we ask her she'll give us a profile."

Horatio looked at Eric considering, "Call her Eric, I want to talk to her before she sees anything. And Eric?"

Eric looked at Horatio, "yeah H."

"Thanks," Horatio walked out of the room.

Eric waited a couple of beats and reached for his cell phone.


	2. Return to Work

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I just wanted to get the disclaimer out there. Thanks to everyone for the positive reviews; they are much appreciated. As aways enjoy...

Return to Work

Eric drove in silence. He wasn't sure, but he thought that he had just done something really stupid, something that would completely screw up his newfound happiness, and he was nervous to say the least. He had begged Calleigh to come with him to see Elizabeth, reasoning that she couldn't kill him if there were witnesses there. He sighed deeply and prayed, prayed she wouldn't run right back out of his life yet again.

Calleigh watched Eric from the corner of her eye. He had come to the ballistics lab and practically begged her to ride with him to see Elizabeth. She had hoped he would enlighten her as to why, but he had not said one word since they left the lab. He looked nervous and upset about something though, but until he was ready to share she couldn't do anything to help. After about twenty minutes of tension filled air, she finally tired of his silence and decided to ask why the hell he had wanted her to come along.

"Eric, what's going on here? Why did you need me to come with you to see your girlfriend?" She hadn't intended to let Eric know that the thought of seeing him with Elizabeth bothered her, but she realized that she sounded petulant.

"Calleigh, I think I did something really stupid," Eric replied oblivious to her discomfort.

"What! What did you do?" Now Calleigh was really concerned; what if he done something stupid, like get this woman pregnant?

"I told H that Beth would give us a profile on the Bay Strangler cases." He said it quickly in a rush so the words almost sounded like a jumble.

This was not something she was expecting to hear, so Calleigh's expression wouldn't have been any more surprised if Eric had told her he had just won the lottery. "Eric, why would you think she'd be able to give us a profile? What am I missing here?"

Eric took a deep breath and decided to get it over with. "Beth is a profiler for the FBI. She is on a leave of absence right now, but we really need some help with these strangler cases. We have nothing in the way of real evidence, so I asked H if I could show her the crime scene reports. The problem is that she was taking a break from profiling. She told me that getting inside the head of all of those monsters was eating away at her, and she needed a break before she burned out. I just don't know how she is going to react when I ask her to jump back in."

"Eric, how do you _know_ all this about a woman you have only been seeing for a couple of weeks?" Calleigh looked at Eric completely mystified. He was exasperating at times and could be as deep as a puddle when it came to women. To top it all off, she knew for a fact that he rarely made any real effort to get to know anything about the woman he might be dating.

Cal, I've known her since college. We were…um…involved while we were in school." Eric glanced at her from the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction.

Calleigh looked at him, her eyes wide, her expression one of shock, "Oh," was her only comment.

"Well, since we have four victims already maybe she won't kill you until after the case is solved."

Eric's only reaction was to cough as he pulled the Hummer into the driveway of his oceanfront condo. Calleigh felt her stomach clinch and the jealousy rise into her throat as she realized that Elizabeth was _staying at Eric's house_. She followed Eric as he walked up to the door, but before he could turn the knob the door opened abruptly. There stood Elizabeth dressed in jeans, black boots, and a white cotton top. She had her Glock clipped to the waistband of her jeans and her FBI credentials around her neck.

"What…how…?" Eric sputtered before he was interrupted by Elizabeth's monotone

"It seems I've been officially invited into your case. I just got a call from Quantico. Strangely enough, it seems that your Lieutenant called them this morning. Let's get this show on the road. You can brief me on the way."

Elizabeth grabbed her keys and a backpack from inside the door. She brushed by Eric without making eye contact with him and walked down to the SUV. She climbed in the back-seat and waited for the two of them to catch up with her. Calleigh looked at Eric with raised eyebrows and went to join Elizabeth in the Hummer. He inhaled deeply to combat the butterflies in his stomach and followed suit.

* * *

The drive back to the lab was a quiet one. Elizabeth was reading case files and looking at crime scene photos. Occasionally she would ask a question, and either Eric or Calleigh would answer. She seemed to be focusing the majority of her attention on the photos. Eric watched her in the rear-view mirror as she ran a manicured fingernail down the side of one particularly gruesome picture.

Elizabeth pursed her lips in thought as she studied the pictures from the case files. These were certainly not the worst crime scene photos that she had ever seen, but she was still a little bit uncomfortable. This was the first time she and Eric had ever worked together professionally, and she was uncertain how he would react to what she was going to have to do before she could finish a profile. All of the neurotic habits she had picked up during her time with the BAU were going to rear their ugly heads again. Elizabeth looked up and her eyes met Eric's who was still watching her. He gave her a smile, and it was all she could do not to cry. She was not a person who cried in public, so Elizabeth just looked back down at the picture in her hand. "Insomnia here I come again." she thought to herself. "Oh well, it was nice sleeping while it lasted." Finally, she shook her head slightly as she mentally prepared herself. Going into the mind of a monster was never an appetizing prospect, but they needed her help, it was her job and she would do it no matter what it cost her emotionally.

Eric parked the Hummer in the parking lot of the crime lab. Calleigh climbed out and murmured something to him about having "things" to do. He walked around to the backseat and opened the door for Elizabeth. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"Beth, I didn't ask H to call your boss. I just wanted you to look at this and maybe point us in the right direction. I'm sorry…"

Elizabeth put her hand on Eric's cheek and caressed it. "It's OK Eric. It's probably better this way. I needed to think about going back to work at some time. I've had a nice break, and getting back in the saddle won't be so bad since I have you to come home to afterward. Just promise me one thing. When we're done today please find a gym so I can work out. Exercise is about the only way I 'm able to deal with the stress of my job."

"Done," was his reply. "I know a great place. Most of the team works out there after shift. You should have no trouble finding a cop or two to spar with."

Elizabeth gave him a real smile, her eyes lighting up. "Great. I love beating up on cops."

Eric laughed at her and escorted her inside the building. "We're going to Horatio's office. I know he wants to talk to you before we get into this too much."

"That's fine; I have a couple of things I need to tell him," she stopped in the middle of the hallway and faced Eric. She looked up at him and put her hand on his arm to emphasize her point, "Eric _you_ need to understand something before I do this. What I'm going to do is unpleasant, and I sometimes don't react too well afterwards. You know about the insomnia I've had since I've been home, but when I work it gets worse." She looked into his dark eyes, willing him to accept what she was saying, "I just want you to be prepared." She paused and took a deep breath, "If you don't want to see me again after this I'll understand."

Eric gave her a wry smile, "Beth, I'm not going anywhere. I didn't realize how much I had missed _us_ until you walked back in my life, and I haven't been this happy since you left me. I'll be here for you no matter what."

Elizabeth smiled, unshed tears swimming in her golden eyes. All the things she wanted to say but couldn't were mirrored in them. "Let's go see Lt. Caine," was her only comment.

Natalia and Ryan were walking down the hallway towards the trace lab when they passed Eric and Elizabeth entering Horatio's office. Ryan did a double take and looked at Natalia.

"Nat, who was that with Delko," he asked, looking over his shoulder at the couple who were now sitting in Horatio's office.

"I ran into Calleigh in the locker room, and she told me that Eric's friend is a profiler from the FBI. She's supposed to give us a profile of the Bay Strangler," Natalia replied as they continued down the hall to trace to check on samples from the latest Strangler case.

* * *

Horatio Caine did not know exactly what to make of Special Agent Elizabeth Finale. First of all she was extremely beautiful. Knowing Eric as he did, Horatio expected that, but her intelligence surprised him. It was obvious from her commentary on the case files that she knew what she was doing. Her SAC had been extremely complimentary of her profiling skills. His only request was for Horatio to keep an eye on her since she had been on leave. The BAU did not want to lose this particular agent to burn-out. Horatio studied Elizabeth as she described some of the cases she had worked on. Her intelligence shone from her expressive eyes. She was cool and efficient, but wonderfully expressive as she described exactly what she could bring to the case. Eric, who was sitting next to her, watched with rapt attention as she described the program at the BAU, her educational background and professional experience.

Elizabeth assessed the lean red-headed man sitting at the desk in front of her. She had heard about him from Eric and had seen Marisol's wedding picture in Eric's condo, but as a profiler she tended to make her own deductions about people. After sitting in the office with him for five minutes, Elizabeth decided that Horatio Caine was a man of deep convictions and even deeper emotions. He kept himself separate from his team, but he cared deeply for each one of them. He hadn't said anything about it, but she knew her SAC well enough to know that he had probably asked Horatio to watch out for her. Elizabeth decided to keep her mouth shut since Special Agent Mike Farris could be a stubborn son of a bitch and hadn't wanted to lose her.

"Lt. Caine…" Elizabeth began.

"Please call me Horatio," he interrupted her.

"OK, if you'll call me Elizabeth," she countered, her golden eyes probing his blue ones with an unwavering gaze.

Horatio nodded his assent, "Well Elizabeth, what can we do to assist you in getting started?"

"I need a place to work preferably with room to spread out the files and crime scene photos. I'll also need to see the bodies of each victim and speak with the police officers involved with each investigation."

Horatio had been nodding at each of her requests and finally responded, "Eric, let's set her up in layout. There is plenty of room for her to work. I'll arrange with Alexx for her to see each victim, and please make sure she speaks with Tripp" Horatio said.

"Sure thing H, I'll take care of all of that." Eric turned to Elizabeth, "Beth do you need anything else?"

"I also want to see the most recent crime scene. That is if it has not been completely cleared yet," Elizabeth said. She looked at each man in turn waiting for one of them to respond.

Horatio nodded in agreement, but the request disturbed Eric in a way he couldn't fathom. He grabbed her hand, "Beth why do you need to see that?"

"Eric, I need to see everything. I can't do as thorough a job if I can't go to the crime scene. I need to see and experience everything the UNSUB and his victim did."

Eric nodded and swallowed. He wasn't totally convinced. His expression was distressed but he gently squeezed her hand and said, "I'll take you."


	3. Inside the Mind of a Killer

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I just wanted to get the disclaimer out there. Thanks to everyone for the positive reviews; they are much appreciated. As aways enjoy...

Inside the Mind of a Killer

Elizabeth climbed out of the Hummer and looked at Amanda Conner's home. The outside of the house and the grounds appeared immaculate; except for the crime scene tape and the sealed door there was no warning of the horror that lay within the large oceanfront home. She walked up the drive, her eyes taking in every detail. Eric followed her to the door and just shook his head in amusement when she pulled out a knife. He jumped slightly when the blade snapped open with the press of a button. Elizabeth just looked at Eric with a raised brow then sliced through the tape sealing the door. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and then walked through the doorway into the crime scene.

There were no lights left on in the house, leaving it a dark witness to the unspeakable horrors perpetrated on the victim. Elizabeth slowly entered the vestibule; the first thing she noticed was that there had been no forced entry at the door.

She turned to Eric who had followed her inside, "How did he gain access to the house. Was there forced entry anywhere?"

Eric, who was watching her from the doorway, replied, "The patio door was forced. We found evidence proving the lock was damaged."

Elizabeth nodded and walked into the kitchen. She noticed the shambles the kitchen was left in. "The attack started in here," she murmured to herself. There were dishes, pots, pans, and flatware scattered everywhere. "He grabbed her from behind, sneaking up on her maybe." There were remains of the meal that Mrs. Connor had been cooking. The spilled food was intermingled with the blood on the floor. There were bloody drag marks leading from the kitchen into the living room.

Following the drag marks, Elizabeth walked slowly into the room; there was blood everywhere. It was on the furniture, the walls and in deep puddles on the floor. She opened the case file and looked at the photo of Amanda Conner; the beautiful blue-eyed blonde was smiling unabashedly at the photographer. Elizabeth then looked at the pictures of the crime scene that had been taken by Eric. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. In the deepest recesses of her mind she constructed her vision of what had happened in this house yesterday. She took herself inside the mind of the killer who had so brutally ended the life of a 24 year old housewife.

* * *

_I've been watching her now for the better part of a week. Today is the day; I'm going to finally meet her face to face. She has the face of an angel, just like the others I found. My beauties and they belong to me. I walk to the patio door; I know from my observation that it will be easy to open. I gently jimmy the lock and slide the door open. I hear her here in the kitchen so I quietly enter the room. I stand there watching her; she has no idea that I have finally come for her. She is my angel, and I'm going to make her mine forever…_

* * *

Elizabeth blinked her eyes, tearing her mind from the visions filling it. This part was always the worst. Trying to imagine the worst things one human being could do to another had always made her feel as if a piece of her soul had been torn away. She looked at the autopsy photos and reports as she continued her stroll through the living room. Ligature strangulation with a was the cause of death in all of the cases, but each victim went through hell before death occurred. Amanda Conner had put up quite a fight; she had defensive wounds on her hands as well as 35 stab wounds throughout her entire body. The knife had come from the victim's own kitchen and had been left behind. It was a weapon of opportunity, grabbed when the victim had begun to fight. There were no usable prints left by the UNSUB. The red silk scarf used for the strangulation had been left wrapped around the victim's neck. Elizabeth could tell that the UNSUB felt no remorse whatsoever, and she could see from the damage done to the victim's face that the attack was personal - that he was probably escalating. Who was the attack aimed at? Why had he chosen this particular woman? The autopsy results might shed some light on that question. Amanda Conner had been left lying in the living room like a broken doll; she had been dead for approximately four hours before her husband had returned home from work to find her body.

Eric was keeping his eye on Elizabeth as she toured the crime scene. He hadn't wanted her in this profession in the first place, and now, ironically, here she was walking through a bloodbath at his behest. She stood in the living room for the longest time with her eyes closed, whispering to herself, and then she began walking through the rest of the house appearing as cool as someone on a lunchtime stroll through the park.

Almost as soon as he had formed the thought, Elizabeth turned to him and said, "I'm done here." She walked to the door. "Let's head back to the lab; I have a lot of work to finish. I also want to speak to Dr. Woods."

She left the house, and Eric replaced the seal at the door. He followed her to the Hummer, never realizing that a pair of eyes had been watching them from the trees the entire time.

* * *

Alexx and Calleigh were enjoying a relaxing mid afternoon cup of coffee in the break room. Alexx had heard about the FBI's involvement, and was curious about Calleigh's take on the agent doing the profiling.

"Calleigh, honey, what do you think of her? Does she know what she is doing?"

Calleigh knew that she had to appear nonchalant, so she paused and took a sip from her coffee mug. She knew Alexx would catch it if she tried to hedge, so she figured honesty was the best policy. "Alexx, she is very smart. I could tell from listening to her questions and observations on the way here that she knows what she's doing. I think she'll do a thorough job."

Alexx nodded, satisfied with Calleigh's response. Her baby-girl _knew_ if someone wouldn't be up to the task. "I'm supposed to meet with her once she gets back from the crime scene. I'd better get to the morgue." Alexx drained the last of her coffee from the mug and put it in the sink. She smiled at Calleigh and left the room, heading to her office.

When she had first begun working at the FBI, someone had told her that medical examiners had no people skills, well skills with live people anyway. Elizabeth couldn't remember who it had been, but she realized that they had obviously never met Dr. Alexx Woods. She had a warm, friendly manner, and she was fascinated with getting to know people. She had a way about her that enabled her to ferret out intimate details from people without them even realizing it. Elizabeth knew from Eric's description that she was the "Mother" of the day-shift, and her maternal instinct obviously was also extended to the victims who graced her autopsy table.

Elizabeth shifted in her chair and made some notes in her unique shorthand. "Dr. Woods, other than the stab wounds and the ligature strangulation, were there any other findings of significance?"

Alexx glanced at her report considering the question, "She was twelve weeks pregnant, but other than that, there was nothing in the tox screen."

"Hmmm," Elizabeth said, her eyes closed. She was frustrated with herself; there was something she was missing here. She suddenly snapped her eyes open and grabbed the other three case files. One by one she snatched the autopsy reports from the files and glanced through them. Finding what she was looking for in each one, she hurriedly thanked Alexx and rushed from the room.

Alexx gave a sad smile to the whirlwind that was Elizabeth running from the room and said to the empty space, "You're welcome…"

* * *

Elizabeth rushed back to layout. She needed to spread out all of the pictures from each crime scene. Each victim had been less than four months pregnant and in her heart Elizabeth knew that fact was significant. As she rounded the corner she ran headlong into what felt like a solid brick wall. The files she was holding flew from her hands and scattered to the floor.

"_Jesus Fucking Christ,"_ She snapped as she surveyed the papers spread all over the floor. She bent down to pick them up when she heard a voice above her ask in a distinctive Texas accent,

"Ma'am are you alright? You know you shouldn't go running down the hall like that. You could get hurt."

She could hear the amusement in his voice, so Elizabeth's only answer was to glare up at the stranger. He squatted down to assist her in reassembling her case-files, and she was able to get a better look at him. She narrowed her eyes and asked in a deceptively sweet voice, "Are you by chance Detective Tripp?"

Tripp had been walking to layout looking for the FBI Profiler who Horatio had asked him to speak with about the Bay Strangler cases. He had just been about to enter the layout room when a guided missile with dark curly hair slammed into him. It was all he could do not to laugh at her frustration, especially when she let loose with a very unladylike phrase. He began to assist her with reorganizing her case files when she nailed his identity.

Sitting in layout with Elizabeth, Tripp felt a bit like a deer caught in the headlights. She was a direct woman. He was used to Calleigh, but this one made him uncomfortable; she had a college degree in screwing with the brain. She kept firing question after question at him in a calm emotionless voice. It was all he could do to keep up with her thought processes. She had him fumbling around for his personal case notes and stumbling over his words. Throughout the entire interview all he could think was, "What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?"

Elizabeth knew that Tripp was uncomfortable. She was firing questions at him barely giving him a chance to think about the answers. She wanted his gut response; it was a patented interrogation technique of hers that she enjoyed using from time to time. It was a rare occasion that she used it on a police officer, but this one had caused her to drop her files then had the temerity to laugh at her when she got upset about it. As far as she was concerned, he was getting exactly what he deserved.

"Is there anything else in your notes that you've neglected to mention to me Detective Tripp," Elizabeth asked, her tone plainly inferring that she wouldn't believe anything he told her.

By now Tripp was ready to explode, but he took a deep breath and counted to ten. He made the mistake of looking at her, and realized she was trying very hard not to laugh at him. He gave her a grin and asked, "Why don't we start over?"

Elizabeth finally gave Tripp a genuine smile and responded, "That would be nice. Why don't we get a cup of coffee? I'll buy."

* * *

Calleigh passed Elizabeth and Frank in the hall. They were headed out the door of the lab, and the last thing she heard Elizabeth ask was where they could find a really good cup of coffee. Calleigh breathed a sigh of relief; she wanted to find Eric and see what was _really_ going on between him and his girlfriend. Any other time she wouldn't have any difficulty asking questions, but now, now she felt shy. What was wrong with her? She was still seeing Jake, who had just called to invite her out to a romantic dinner.

Calleigh walked up to the print lab. She stood in the door and just watched Eric. Her eyes drank in every detail. He was concentrating hard on whatever he was trying to get prints from. She smiled to herself. She had just had an epiphany. She loved Eric. After all of this time she finally got it. She finally got it, and now it was probably too late. Her luck with men never did get any better did it? She was always a day late or a dollar short. Calleigh started to turn and walk away when Eric's voice caught her attention, "Calleigh, did you need me?"

Eric noticed Calleigh standing in the doorway lost in her own world. He smiled. She was so beautiful. He wished things could have been different, but she was with Jake. He wouldn't interfere with her happiness anymore. Besides, Elizabeth was here, and they were still enjoying each other, for however long it might last. Knowing Elizabeth as he did it could be a day, a week or forever. She had always been a creature of extremes. Eric decided to see what Calleigh needed before she walked away from the door as she had begun to.

Calleigh turned back to Eric and noticed that he was smiling at her. She felt a tug somewhere deep in her heart, so she asked in soft voice, "Eric, do you have a minute?"


	4. Insomnia

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I just wanted to get the disclaimer out there. Thanks to everyone for the positive reviews; they are much appreciated. As aways enjoy...

Insomnia

Calleigh walked into the print lab. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to say or how she was going to say it, but first she needed information; was Eric in love with Elizabeth? If she could just get a sense of how he felt then she knew she could figure out what to do.

Eric watched Calleigh enter the room. There was something about her today, but he couldn't decide what it was. He did, however, know that he was through with waiting for Jake to be out of the picture. Being with Elizabeth had made him realize that he was cheating himself by waiting for someone who might or might not have feelings for him. He couldn't do it anymore. He wanted it all or nothing, so if she wanted Jake then he was not going to cloud the issue anymore.

As he turned back to the computer to check AFIS, he sighed when he saw that there were no hits on the fingerprint he was running. He felt Calleigh put her hand on his shoulder, and he half turned and smiled at her.

"What's up?" he asked, eyes dropping back to the computer screen once more.

In an effort not to be obvious, Calleigh decided to try the indirect route to get information from him. "So, Eric, do you and Elizabeth have plans tonight?"

Eric looked up from the computer and grinned. "Yeah, we're going to dinner with my parents and her grandparents. They want to celebrate her homecoming and other things."

Calleigh felt like she had been hit in the stomach; she felt like she was gasping for air. What "other things" could they want to celebrate? Were they getting engaged? "Wow, that's great," she choked. It took effort, but Calleigh thought she sounded normal and not like she was suffocating. She cleared her throat and decided to pry further, "What other things are they celebrating?"

"Ah, nothing special," he replied. "Why are you so curious?"

"No reason; I just wanted to know. You said that you and Elizabeth had been involved in college. You've never mentioned her, so I was just curious about her." Calleigh held her breath, praying that Eric would say that their relationship had been just a casual thing.

Eric was distracted with trying again to get a print from the knife from Mrs. Conner's house, so he had his back to Calleigh and didn't notice the almost desperate look in her eyes. He made some notes on his pad and said, "We met freshman year and dated on and off until graduation. We were living together by the time we graduated. I went to work for MDPD and she went to grad school. When she went to work for the FBI she ended it."

He looked back up from his notes at Calleigh. She was standing by the counter and appeared fascinated with the file she was holding. Obviously, she wasn't really interested. Now Eric was sure that letting Calleigh go was the right decision for both of them. As much as he loved her and wanted to be with her he knew that it was better for both of them if he just walked away. She really must love Jake. Eric sighed deeply, a feeling of sadness developing in the pit of his stomach. Why hadn't it been him? Thank God Elizabeth was here. She had always loved him, and he knew that, even if they didn't stay together, she always would.

Calleigh looked down at the file in her hands. She felt as if all of the oxygen in the room had been used up. This was worse than she thought. This was no fly-by-night thing. He had a real history with Elizabeth. They had _lived_ together. He seemed so happy; he deserved to be happy. Calleigh knew it wasn't fair to either of them if she said what had been on her mind; it would be better for both of them if she walked away now. He hadn't said it, but he must really love Elizabeth. Calleigh sighed deeply, feeling her heart clench as she did so. Why hadn't it been her? Thank God she had Jake; he wasn't the most reliable man in the world, but she enjoyed being with him.

At that moment Calleigh's cell phone rang. She answered it, spoke for a minute, and snapped it shut. "Horatio needs me in ballistics. I'll see you later Eric. You have a good evening." Calleigh walked out of the print lab. Her heart was breaking, but she would allow no one to see it. Above all she was strong; she would survive.

* * *

The house was completely dark. The only noise was from the wind whistling in the trees. Calleigh settled back into the couch in her living room and looked at the shadows dancing across the walls. 3 am was a lonely time, and right now she was feeling like the only person on earth. As a general rule she rarely had trouble sleeping, but tonight she had things on her mind.

Jake had picked her up for their dinner date and wouldn't tell her anything about where he was taking her. The only clue he had given her was to dress up. When he had arrived at her door she had been ready to go, dressed in a sapphire blue silk dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. She had worn her favorite heels and topped it off with a silk shawl. She could see the appreciation in Jake's eyes when she had opened the door. He had looked pretty dashing himself in a black suit and tie, his hair tousled just so. Jake was not big on romantic gestures, so she had been completely surprised when he had handed her a single, blood-red rose. The gift had touched her deeply; he wouldn't have gotten a better response if he had handed her a dozen of them. He had held her hand as they walked to the car, opened the door for her, and gently helped her inside. Jake had been perfect.

He had made reservations at one of the most exclusive and expensive restaurants in Miami. Calleigh was still not sure how he had gotten them a table, but somehow he had. The food and champagne had been wonderful. Jake had gone through so much trouble to make the evening perfect; the atmosphere had dripped with romance. She had been enjoying herself immensely until she had noticed a large group entering the restaurant. She had been shocked to see Eric's parents and his two sisters walk in with a couple she didn't recognize. She figured they were probably Elizabeth's grandparents. A couple of seconds later Eric had walked in with Elizabeth. They had been holding hands and laughing at something. Calleigh couldn't help but notice how _together_ they seemed. Her evening had been ruined after that. Jake had been so attentive and sweet, but all she could see was the group two tables over.

Calleigh settled deeper into the sofa and grabbed an old, comfortable afghan. She snuggled deep into it and watched the wind whip through the trees outside the picture window. This whole thing was her fault. She had simply waited too long. Eric had been there, ready and willing to take the next step; the ball had been in her court, and she had simply watched it fly by. She felt so regretful of her loss. Calleigh rubbed her eyes and stood up. She walked into the bedroom and stood there watching Jake sleep. She lay back down and snuggled up next to him. He sleepily put an arm around her and pulled her close. She closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to come, but she had never been further from it.

* * *

Elizabeth hated 3 am. She was sitting on Eric's deck watching the waves crash against the shore. Sleep was something she had learned to live without, but it was so much nicer when it didn't elude her. She glanced down to the textbook in her lap; the case files and her laptop were inside on the kitchen table waiting for her to get to work. She reached for her cigarette case and extracted one. Lighting it, she watched the smoke curl up and get taken away by the wind. It wasn't a healthy habit, but she found it relaxing. It was just one more way for her to deal with the stress. The wind was picking up speed. A storm was brewing in more ways than one. She and Eric had come home from the restaurant and had gotten into a very intense "discussion" about what their future held. She had been honest with Eric; she had always loved him but at this stage in her life she wouldn't make any promises. There would always be another monster to chase, and she would have to follow.

Her career had been chosen for her when she was ten years old. That was when her childhood had ended. Elizabeth had come home from school to find her mother's body; she had been raped and murdered by someone who had never been caught. Her Navy SEAL father had become the center of her life. It had been he who had given her the fearlessness and passion to grab what she wanted in life. He had taught her how to defend herself, and had encouraged her to compete in her chosen discipline. She glanced at the SEAL Triad tattoo on her shoulder. She had gotten it the day of her father's funeral; he had been killed while on a mission when she had been sixteen. Orphaned, she had moved in with her grandparents. They had stuck her in an all-girls Catholic school. Two years of stifling uniforms and nuns had been enough for her. She had moved out as soon as she had started college. Elizabeth loved her grandparents, but they really didn't understand her. Well, in all honesty, they hadn't really understood her father either. Their wild-child granddaughter had been a challenge, and they had done their best.

Elizabeth stood up and walked back into the kitchen. She sat at the table and picked up her notes. The profile was almost complete; she just needed to put the finishing touches on it. She glanced down at what she had written earlier in the day _"these attacks are not directed towards the women murdered, they are just the casualty."_ In her gut she knew that the attacks were directed towards someone else, but who? Was it the spouse, the parent? Since all of the victims had been pregnant, Elizabeth was leaning towards the spouse as the actual target of the UNSUB. Now the question was why? The UNSUB could have a pregnant woman in his life, or one who had recently lost a child. The pregnancy was the most likely stressor she had come up with.

Her Egyptian Mau chose that moment to jump up on the table. Egypt regarded her with her light green eyes and just rubbed her head against Elizabeth's arm.

"Don't worry Egypt; we'll be going home pretty soon. I know you miss Virginia."

At that moment Eric wandered out of the bedroom looking for Elizabeth, so he heard her last comment. "You're planning to leave as soon as we close this case aren't you?"

"Eric, I told you earlier, this is what I do. I don't have a choice any more than you have a choice about being a CSI. I can't be what you need me to be. I am and will always be a wanderer. You need someone who will stay here in Miami, who you can take care of. You and I love each other. We always will, but admit it, Eric, we don't love each other enough to stay together forever. Besides, I think that there is someone that you do love. You just won't admit it to me or maybe even to yourself. I saw you in the lab earlier when you were talking to Calleigh. I can tell; the two of you have pretty strong feelings for each other."

"Calleigh is seeing someone. They're pretty serious," Eric replied.

"Hmmm," was Elizabeth's only reply. "Let's go back to bed. You need your rest if you're going to be alert." Elizabeth said. She pushed Eric towards the bedroom and stood in the kitchen alone. After turning off the light she looked out of the patio door again.

There was definitely a storm brewing.


	5. Aftermath

I do not own CSI Miami or any of its characters; those wonderful people at CBS do.

The title of the book listed in the chapter is an actual textbook written by John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler.

Thanks again for the positive reviews. I read and appreciate all of them. Please enjoy…

Aftermath

_Night was the time for all predators to hunt, and 3 am was his favorite time to seek his prey. The storm was still raging; it gave him even more cover as he approached the house he had been watching. Slowly, he slipped up to the dark house and in about 10 seconds had the lock picked. The alarm system took another 30 to disable. Once all of the security precautions were done away with, he creped up the stairs. In his hand he held a silk scarf, a gift for his new lady. He found her in the master bedroom, and he stood in the room watching her as she sighed restlessly in her sleep. Finally, he decided it was time, so he slowly stalked towards the bed…_

* * *

6:00 in the morning found the air cool, clean and fresh. The storm from the previous night had passed, but in its wake had left debris on the beach and raw emotions. Despite the fresh air and the cool breeze, Eric felt nothing but pain; it was rushing up his leg and was beginning to make him feel nauseous. He and Elizabeth had gone out for a morning run, but after two miles he had given up trying to keep up with her. His damn leg was throbbing from where he had been shot. Finally deciding that being able to walk later was a higher priority than looking macho, he slowed to a walk, finally stopping on the beach below his condo. He bent at the waist and dropped his head, taking slow deep breaths, until the urge to vomit passed. She was long gone, heading off for another three miles before breakfast. He rested on the beach for a few minutes regaining his wind. As he stood there watching the waves crash on the shore, it was all he could do not to kick his own ass. Their discussion last night had not gone exactly as planned, and Eric knew he had handled the whole thing all wrong. Cursing himself and in pain, he slowly limped back up towards the house.

He hadn't wanted to push her, but at the same time he had wanted answers. She had never lied to him; anytime he had asked a direct question she had always given him a very direct answer. He couldn't even bitch that she had led him on. She had come home on vacation and had never told him she was staying. What exactly was his problem with this situation? Elizabeth's main attraction had always been her spirit, but the first week she had been home he had seen a totally different side of her; she had been weak physically and emotionally and had _needed_ someone to take care of her. He had only been too willing to step in and do it. Weakness was not something that he had ever associated with her, but he supposed that eight years of chasing the worst of the worst would wear anyone down.

Distracted, Eric sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands, the coffee sitting in front of him forgotten. Last night he'd realized that the old Elizabeth was back. She had always been obstinate, and when he had pressed her on the future she had really dug her heels in. She had not budged an inch in her refusal to give him any promises. The only thing she would say with any certainty was that she would always love him and would support him come what may. Last night they had sounded like empty words, but in the pale light of morning he realized that it was more than any other woman had ever promised him.

He glanced around his condo; her things were intermingled with his now. Her pictures were on the bookshelves again, and the heady scent of her jasmine perfume lingered in the air. In only two short weeks the house looked just as it did before she had left him the first time. The only new additions were the cat that was lying on the window sill sunning itself and the cigarette case sitting next to her laptop and notes. Curious, Eric picked up one of the textbooks stacked on the floor by the chair. Reading the title, _Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives,_ he grimaced and quickly put it down.

The kitchen door opened, and in walked Elizabeth, face glowing and eyes sparkling from her run. She sauntered over to the table, draped her arms around his neck, and gave him a sweaty kiss on the neck. "Hiya handsome, what-cha doing here all by yourself?" she asked playfully.

He grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. Gold eyes met dark brown and fused in a moment of perfect, silent communication.

Exhilarated but tired, Elizabeth sat in Eric's lap enjoying the intimacy between them; their chemistry together was undeniable, a fact neither of them had ever been willing or able to fight. Suddenly changing position to face him directly, she leaned into him. "I need to grab a shower," she whispered suggestively in his ear, "would you care to join me?"

His eyes lit up at the suggestion, and quickly he stood, taking her with him; she wound her legs around his waist, and he carried her towards the tub.

* * *

Calleigh stumbled out of her bedroom, the smell of coffee drawing her to the kitchen. Still half asleep, she walked in and found Jake standing shirtless by the coffee pot pouring two cups. Her eyes drank in his half naked body. Inwardly, she smiled, thinking of how sweet he had been last night. He had worked so hard to make their evening perfect, and it had been – for a while. Hearing her approach, Jake turned and caught her standing there, just staring, so he gave her a sexy grin and handed her one of the coffee cups. Touched by his thoughtfulness, she gratefully took a sip. Proclaiming it perfect she made her way to the table to enjoy her first shot of caffeine for the day.

She sat at the table with her blonde hair falling in sleep-tousled waves around her face. Her head felt as if it was going to explode right off her shoulders, and her eyes felt as if they were the size of golf balls. Staying up all night was not something she ever wanted to do again. If she felt that she had come to any real resolutions then it might have been worth the sacrifice, but since she had come to no firm conclusions except that seeing Eric and Elizabeth together was tearing her heart to shreds, the sleep depravation had done nothing except leave her with a raging headache and a broken heart. The only solace she could take from the entire experience was that she hadn't made a fool of herself by telling Eric that she was in love with him. She could, no, she _would,_ get over him.

Enjoying his view of her, Jake stood in the kitchen by the counter, his heart pounding hard in his chest. Calleigh was the only woman alive who could make him feel this way. He had been a "love them and leave them" kind of guy until he had found her again. Screwing things up with Calleigh had been the worst mistake of his life, and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to be here with her. Even though he had broken her heart and had lied to her more times than he could count, she had forgiven him and was ready to begin anew. He had hoped that she would enjoy his surprise last night, and miracle of miracles she had. He hadn't wanted to press his luck, and had intended to simply walk her to the door, kiss her goodnight, and go, but when he had turned to leave she had grabbed his hand and asked, "You're staying tonight aren't you?"

There had been no need to ask twice, she had led him inside the apartment, and they had made love. Afterward they had cuddled and he had fallen asleep. This morning he had awakened and watched her sleep. She was so beautiful; she looked like an angel. He loved her so much he couldn't even describe it. Every time he saw her his heart felt like it was overflowing with something he had no words for. Unsure how to deal with it, and, pretty certain too much show of emotion on his part would scare her off, he was trying to be low key in winning her complete trust again. Jake knew that she didn't totally feel the same way, but he was hopeful that he could work on it. He wanted all of her smiles for himself, and he would do whatever he had to do to make that a reality.

Calleigh's cell phone rang and she ran into the bedroom to grab it, cursing when she stumped her toe on the door. She came back in the room her face pale, "That was dispatch, we have another Strangler victim. I've got to go..." Her voice trailing behind her, she ran to the bathroom to quickly get ready.

* * *

Eric was in the bathroom trying to shave when he heard his cell phone ring. Since he didn't want to cut his own throat by accident, he yelled for Elizabeth to answer it. There was silence, but he suddenly heard the shattering of glass and her yell, "_Goddamn it!_" Hurriedly, he wiped the remaining foam from his face and ran into the kitchen; she was standing there shaking, her coffee cup shattered against the wall, and her face white.

"What the hell happened in here?" he asked, concerned that she was going to pass out.

"We have another victim." Rage was making her voice shake, "We need to go _now_!" Elizabeth was seething with anger. "_That son of a bitch has killed another woman!" _


	6. Broken

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. Sorry if this chapter is a little dry; I promise it's necessary. Thanks to everyone for the positive reviews; they are much appreciated. As aways enjoy...

Broken

Guilt and frustration were the only emotions she could feel. They were coursing through her body and making her stomach burn from the inside out. The phone call from dispatch had put an end to her and Eric's very pleasant morning interlude, leaving her feeling like she had let yet another victim down. Bile kept rising in her throat, so in a failing attempt to calm her queasy stomach, Elizabeth was trying to breathe like her yoga teacher had shown her. In the more rational side of her mind she knew that it was insane to feel this way, but this torture was her own private, self-inflicted hell.

She had already called the Miami FBI Field Office to get some plain-clothed agents mingling with the crowd at the crime scene. Hopefully the surveillance equipment would catch any suspicious activity; it was quite possible the UNSUB would return to the scene of the crime to watch the police at work. It was a common enough occurrence, so she wanted to be prepared for any possibility. Elizabeth sighed as her phone began to ring shrilly. When she saw her SAC's name in the caller ID window, she started to feel the beginnings of a migraine. In a vain attempt to stave it off she leaned her head against the cool glass of the window and rubbed her temples. A phone call from her supervisor this early in the day was _never_ good news, so she hit the "ignore" key on the phone. It would be better to return the call after she had seen the crime scene and given her profile. That way if Mike was going to read her the riot act and pull her back to Quantico, she would have finished the majority of her work in Miami.

The silence from the passenger seat was beginning to grate on Eric's nerves. Once she had given him the news from dispatch they had hustled out to the SUV and left. Completely ignoring him, she had immediately lit a cigarette and started making arrangements for the agents to work the crowd at the crime scene. Knowing her as well as he did, Eric could tell that Elizabeth was deep into blaming herself for this latest victim. Every movement, no matter how small and insignificant, dripped with her guilt.

Sympathetic to her feelings, he tried to grab her hand in support. "It's not your fault Beth; you just came into this case yesterday. You aren't responsible for this."

Elizabeth shook off the proffered hand and lit another cigarette. Finally realizing that she wasn't going to take comfort in anything he was saying, he just shook his head and said, "You really should quit smoking; you know those things will kill you don't you?"

Angry at herself and sick of hearing anti-smoking advice, she just rolled her eyes and snapped, "Screw you Eric! We've all got to die of something, don't we? What gives you any right to tell me what to do? When you start spending every day of your life climbing inside the heads of all of those monsters, then you can give me advice on how I should live. What the hell do you know about this anyway? Do you know how many open cases I left on my desk when I came here?"

Almost mute with shock at her sudden, unexpected fury he whispered, "No."

Elizabeth was staring at him, her gold eyes snapping in anger as she continued on her tirade, "Seventeen", she said. "Seventeen open cases are waiting for me to try to figure out who the bad guy is and why he's doing it, so don't tell me this isn't my responsibility. It is… for as long as I have this badge."

As suddenly as she snapped at him she fell silent and just stared out the window until they arrived at the crime scene.

* * *

Alicia Cooper's lifeless body was in the master bedroom sprawled across the king sized bed. Her once sky blue eyes were filmed over and stared lifelessly at the ceiling fan; her beautiful face had been beaten and was unrecognizable from the overturned photo on the bedside table. Her blonde hair was tangled around her shoulders, and a red silk scarf was wrapped around her neck.

Her head still pounding, Calleigh was thoroughly searching the bedroom for anything that might give them a lead. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and glanced up at Elizabeth who had entered the room. Finding nothing unusual around the bed, she stood up and finally nodded at Elizabeth who was staring intently at the body.

"Has Dr. Woods been here yet?" Elizabeth asked the blonde woman standing next to her.

She shook her head no and answered, "Not yet, she should be here any time now."

Elizabeth had begun to examine every detail in the room. She knew that she couldn't put off the interview much longer, so she finally asked, "When she gets here, please ask her to test for HCG. If I had to bet, I'd say our victim is 12 to 16 weeks pregnant. Who found the body? Was it her husband?"

At Calleigh's nod, she queried, "Could you tell me where he is waiting? I need to interview him."

* * *

Alexx had finally overseen the removal of the victim's body promising to include the requested tests in her post, so Calleigh was free to find Eric. She glanced out of the kitchen window and saw him printing the glass and the doorknob. He was on his knees with his back to her as she quietly approached. Before she could get too close he turned and smiled at her. "Gotcha!" he laughed.

Smiling guiltily, she put her hand on his shoulder and leaned in to see where he had located a possible print. Feeling almost dizzy by her close proximity, Eric breathed in the subtle scent of her vanilla perfume and tried hard to concentrate on what he was doing. Her closeness wasn't making it easy, but he was finally able to lift a distinct print from the very bottom of the doorknob. "I have you now, you bastard," he muttered to himself as he looked at the print tape.

"Eric, is that what I think it is?" Calleigh asked with a hopeful look in her green eyes. "Do you think we have finally got some concrete physical evidence to tie the Strangler with this victim?"

Satisfaction was coursing through him like a drug, almost making him feel high. "I think we might. This print may be the Strangler's first mistake."

* * *

In the den, Elizabeth was sitting with Samuel Cooper. Grief was tearing at the once dynamic, handsome man; he had run his hands through his sandy blonde hair until it stood completely on end. His eyes were swollen and red from weeping. She gently placed her hand on his arm to regain his attention so she could get details about this morning.

She had been questioning him about the time he had arrived home and exactly what he had found when he entered the bedroom. Sympathetic to his overwhelming grief, she was not forceful with her questions; rather, she let him ramble on about whatever came to his mind. She had been picking out the pertinent details from the jumble of thoughts he was pouring out.

Family interviews were not her favorite part of her job, but according to her SAC it was her special gift. Mike had told Elizabeth on more than one occasion that she had a special kind of empathy that victims gravitated to. It was why he always assigned her the tough cases. When she accepted his praise, she neglected to mention that since she was the one to find her own mother's body, she truly understood what it felt like to be in the family's shoes.

Finally after what felt like hours trapped within this stranger's grief, she helped him make arrangements to stay with a family member until the house could be cleared. Elizabeth walked outside into the sunshine; she needed to clear her head and apologize to Eric for lashing out at him during their drive that morning. Her personal demons were certainly not his fault, and he hadn't deserved to be the recipient of her anger.

Walking around to the front of the house, she finally saw him. He was standing with Calleigh, and they were very involved with their conversation. Since neither CSI could see her, Elizabeth studied the pair. Their body language was unmistakable; even if neither would admit it, there was definitely something going on between them. "Well, well," she thought to herself, "isn't this just an interesting development?" Not wanting to be seen, she quietly walked away to digest this very interesting information.

* * *

Horatio was a man on a mission. As he walked through the lab, he was quite satisfied to see that everyone was working intently, processing evidence collected from the crime scene at the Cooper house. Finally he walked into Layout where Elizabeth was waiting, her notebook in hand, photos spread strategically across the table.

She stood up from her seated position and said, "I'm ready to give your team my profile. Could you page everyone to the conference room?"

Ten minutes later, the conference room was filled with everyone from the day-shift. Horatio glanced at Elizabeth and gave her a nod. Without further ado she stepped up to the podium. She looked at everyone in the room with an unwavering gaze then began speaking. She spoke in a confident manner, completely at ease in front of the large group.

"Hello everyone, I appreciate your coming in. As you all know the BAU was asked by your department to give a profile for the Unidentified Subject, or UNSUB. Since I got here yesterday I have been going over all of the evidence collected for each case. Please turn your attention to the photos of the victims. The physical similarity between each one is unmistakable. There were significant physical findings. Each victim, including the one from this morning, was between 12 and 16 weeks pregnant. It is also significant that the UNSUB has escalating levels of violence toward each woman; he has been using a weapon of opportunity to inflict damage above and beyond what is done with the murder weapon. The victim this morning suffered severe facial damage inflicted by a lamp. This did not kill her; like all of the other victims the cause of death was ligature strangulation. The UNSUB is using a red, silk scarf which he then leaves at each scene. The use of the scarf as the murder weapon is the UNSUB's signature, and we should check VICAP for related crimes in other jurisdictions."

The migraine headache was beginning to make her dizzy, so Elizabeth paused for a moment to breathe. She continued, "We are looking for a white male, 18 – 35. Each victim was in her early to mid twenties, and was married to a successful man. I believe that our UNSUB is actually lashing out at the successful spouse. This is a person that he emulates, but feels he cannot be, so he attempts to take away what he envies: this person's happiness. Our UNSUB is under-employed, but works in a skilled profession. He likely has a dominating female, possibly his mother, in his life. I also believe the envy for the successful male stems from a possible sibling rivalry.

There is something besides their looks that connect each victim. In some way each one of these women came into contact with this killer. Since the victims were all pregnant I want someone going through all of the financials for each victim. There is a store, a doctor, or some other link that ties these victims to each other and the UNSUB. Once we find that link, then we will find our killer. We also have some fingerprint evidence discovered this morning. I wouldn't get your hopes up too much that he is in the system. If he has a record it will be a juvenile record and will be sealed. If you get a suspect with a juvenile record , then you should look for fire-starting, cruelty to animals, and bed-wetting that can continue into late adolescence. This UNSUB is skilled at breaking and entering. We should check any suspects for criminal records that include attempted B & E, and also Peeping Toms. This guy had to start somewhere and generally they work their way up the ladder."

The pounding in her head was now unbearable. She had to get out of the room before she made a complete ass of herself, so she concluded with, "If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to find me. I'll leave you to discuss the profile amongst yourselves." Almost staggering, Elizabeth left the room to find a quiet place to try and ease the pounding in her head.


	7. Dreams

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I want to acknowledge the use of the song _Blue Bayou_ which was written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Linda Rondstat. I appreciate all of the encouragement and positive reviews; please enjoy the next installment of our journey...

Dreams

Slowly, awareness came to the sleep-drugged recesses of his mind. Wondering why the bed felt so empty he reached across for her, but wasn't surprised when all his questing arms encountered was her empty pillow. Sighing in dismay, Eric glanced at the bedside clock. It was 3 a.m., and sadly, he knew exactly where to find her at this hour. She would be in the same place she always was at this time of night, sitting on his deck in the Adirondack chair watching the tide come in. He lay there for a minute, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, thinking about the events of the previous day.

Elizabeth had finished presenting her profile and had abruptly left. Realizing that something wasn't right, he had caught up to her as she reached the hallway. He had reached out to grab her arm, and she had turned her agonized gaze up to him, pleading wordlessly for him to help her get out of the lab. He had escorted her to the elevator and driven home while, at the same time, calling Horatio to let him know he would be out for a while. Getting permission to be gone with almost no explanation why had been difficult, but he had finally prevailed with a promise to return as soon as possible. After getting home, Eric helped her with her Imitrex injection, put her in the bed, and sat there for the longest time just watching as she slept.

Elizabeth's migraine headaches worried him. The excruciating agony she went through was not something he'd wish on his worst enemy, much less someone he cared about. The first week she had been home she had suffered from three of them, the second week, one, and now this. She had just gone back to work, but the tension had begun to build as soon as he met her at his door yesterday. Not being a doctor, Eric could only wonder if they could possibly be symptomatic of a worse problem; his gut told him that the stress of her job was the cause, but trying to get her to see a doctor was like trying to change the tides: impossible.

A faint melody reached his ears. Straining to hear, he was finally able to make out the lyrics of the song _Blue Bayou_; he groaned slightly. That wasn't a good sign. In the almost fifteen years he had known her, the only times he had ever seen her get the Linda Ronstadt CD out was when she was depressed or thinking about her parents. Tired of just lying there waiting, Eric finally motivated himself to get up. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms high above his head, wincing when his back and shoulder joints cracked in protest.

Elizabeth was exactly where he thought she'd be. The door to the deck was open, and she was curled up in the big chair with Egypt sitting in her lap. Her photo album was open, and she had a lit cigarette in her hand as well as a bottle of Patrón tequila on the table next to her seat. The song was on its last mournful verse, and concluded with:

_ Oh that boy of mine  
By my side  
The silver moon  
And the evening tide  
Oh some sweet day  
Gonna take away  
This hurting inside  
Well I'll never be blue  
My dreams come true  
On Blue Bayou._

The song ended, the notes fading into the night. The only sounds left were the wind and waves. He sat down next to her silently; reaching only to pick up the bottle of Patrón and take a drink. The expensive liquor took his breath away as it burned its way down his throat into his stomach. Curious about the picture Elizabeth was looking at, Eric coughed, clearing his throat from the tequila, and took the photo from her. It was an old one of them, taken right after he had started working underwater recovery with MDPD, and had been snapped by Marisol at some celebration at his parent's house. He and Elizabeth were sitting on the sofa together; her long legs draped over his and her arms entwined around his neck. He had been holding her close, and they were looking into each other's eyes as if they were the only two people in the world. Mari had grabbed the camera and snapped the picture, laughing that they would want a memory of this day when they were old and surrounded by their grandchildren.

Eric remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was a particularly fond memory because that was the first time they had discussed getting married. "Where did you get this?" he asked incredulously; memories of that day vivid in his mind.

Elizabeth looked at Eric with a sad smile on her face. The tears she had shed earlier were drying on her cheeks when she replied, "Mari gave it to me the week after she took it." She shifted slightly and Egypt jumped down from her lap. Seeing nothing of interest on the deck, she slunk back into the kitchen to nose her food bowl.

Eric sat there, waiting. He knew that there was something she wanted to tell him, and eventually she would get around to sharing if he was patient.

The wind was picking up speed, blowing her dark curls in wild disarray around her face. Elizabeth stared at the waves crashing against the shore, seemingly lost in thought, until finally she turned back to him and said, "I've just been sitting here thinking about my parents, wondering if they'd be proud of what I've done with my life."

Not liking where this was going, Eric stood up and reached for her hands, "Come on, we need to get some sleep. I want you to remember this, Beth: what you do is important. How many hundreds of people have you helped during your career with the bureau? I have no doubts that your parents would feel the same way if they were still alive. I'm just sorry I didn't support you at all in the beginning. I'm sorry you felt that your only choice was to leave me."

Elizabeth's golden eyes filled with tears, and spilled over, running down her cheeks in small rivers of regret. She stared at him, all of her guilt from the way they ended things bubbling up to the surface. "I'm sorry, too. Sorry I just ran away without fighting for what we had with each other, sorry I destroyed all of our dreams."

He pulled her up from the chair into a tight embrace, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. Together they walked back into the house, all of the things so long left unsaid between them finally out in the open.

* * *

Calleigh sighed, finding herself in an all too familiar scenario. It was 3 a.m. and, once again, she was curled up on the couch watching the wind blow through the trees outside her window. The only difference from the previous night was that she was alone. She had wanted to think without any outside influences, so she refused Jake's offer of dinner and had come home to her empty house.

The last few months had been confusing for her to say the least. Jake had returned to her life, and had really complicated her friendship Eric. Calleigh had known for months that Eric's feelings for her had deepened into something stronger than friendship, and she had spent the majority of that time telling herself that he only had a crush. In retrospect that was the reason she had gone headlong into this relationship with Jake. She liked Jake, he was fun to be with, but he was not the kind of man that she could see herself settling down with in the long run. Trust was the issue of the day; as fun as he was, Calleigh knew in her soul that she did not trust him enough to commit fully to a serious relationship with him. He had lied to her more than once, and if he felt it necessary, would again. Jake was much more invested in this than she was, and that wasn't fair to him. She sighed again and rubbed her eyes with a weary hand.

Watching Eric interact with Elizabeth had pushed Calleigh to realize exactly how she felt about him. Her feelings were stronger than she had realized, strong enough to make her feel sick every time Elizabeth's name came up. She didn't like feeling jealous of anyone, much less her best friend. Sighing deeply, she reached over to the table and picked up a picture of herself with her Grandmother Duquesne. Looking at the picture, Calleigh smiled at her younger self and remembered a truism that her Grandmother had told her once upon a time. In her thick Southern drawl and a voice made an octave deeper by years of smoking unfiltered Pall Malls, she had said that you must put the past in its place before you can move into the future. Without thinking for a second more, Calleigh realized that she had done that with Jake, and now it was time to end it before it got any more complicated. In a part of her heart she didn't want to acknowledge, she hoped that Eric was doing the same thing with Elizabeth. Whether he did or didn't, she was determined to finally move into the future without her baggage from Jake. At peace with the decision she had made, Calleigh finally drifted off into a restful sleep.

* * *

Morning found Calleigh knee deep in victims from a shooting the previous night at a Quik Mart convenience store. She finally found the last of the shell casings, checked with Alexx about meeting her for the post, and turned to head to the lab to start her analysis of the evidence. Exhaustion was pulling on her body like a lead weight, but since she had not slept for the past two nights it wasn't unexpected.

Stifling a yawn, Calleigh walked into the crime lab. There were CSI's and techs everywhere working the evidence from the Bay Strangler case. As she passed AV she saw Elizabeth discussing the surveillance evidence from the latest crime-scene with Dan Cooper and Horatio. Eric was in his lab trying feverishly to get a match on the print he found yesterday, and Maxine and Natalia were in DNA working as a tag team to run the samples collected through CODIS so they could be matched against the elimination samples. Knowing she would be busy for the rest of the day analyzing the shell casings from her scene, Calleigh entered ballistics and closed the door behind her. Once in her private domain she dug into her work with enthusiasm, forgetting about the rest of the world outside.

Strolling through the lab, Elizabeth checked her watch. It was almost 1 p.m., so she decided to find Calleigh and work on something that had been in the back of her mind since seeing her with Eric at the crime-scene yesterday. Besides, after everything Eric had done for her the past two and a half weeks, she really owed him this. Finding the door closed at the Ballistics lab didn't deter her; she entered without knocking and quietly walked up behind Calleigh's work station. Smiling with satisfaction at her plan, Elizabeth cleared her throat to get the blonde woman's attention.

Totally engrossed in her work, Calleigh didn't hear the door to the lab open. She was oblivious to the other woman walking right up behind her until she heard the tell-tale clearing of the throat. The noise startled her and made her jump noticeably.

"Oh, for God's sake," Calleigh said in unwelcome surprise, her Southern accent more pronounced from her fright. "How did you manage to get in here without me hearing you?"

Elizabeth smiled in satisfaction and replied, "My father was a Navy SEAL; I learned from him."

Calleigh finally got her racing heart under control and managed to see the humor in the situation. She smiled at the other woman and said, "Well, he did an awfully good job. Have you ever been hunting? I used to go with my Dad when I was young."

Elizabeth laughed and said, "Hunt animals? No, I've never done that; I spend my time hunting human predators."

She walked over to the counter to look at the crime scene photos that had just been delivered to Calleigh. The placement of the bodies was of particular interest. After a few minutes she asked, "Are you looking at any of the other employees for this?"

"No, we don't have any suspects as of yet."

"If I were you I'd take a hard look at the other employees. Look at this picture; of the three victims killed, the only one that was covered at all was the store clerk. The other two vics were left lying where they fell. The clerk's head was covered with that towel, and the body was moved post-mortem. That tells me that the shooter felt remorse. They knew each other. If I had to bet I'd say that this was an inside job."

Calleigh stared at Elizabeth. How, she wondered silently, could anyone see that from just looking at some pictures? "Thanks for the help," she replied. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Oh yes, sorry, I got distracted by the pictures. I came to see if you wanted to have a late lunch. I know you're Eric's best friend, and I though that we should get to know each other a little better."

Lunch with Eric's girlfriend was not exactly high on her list of priorities, but Calleigh couldn't think of a suitable excuse. Actually, she decided that she might be able to do a bit of fishing herself, so she replied, "That'd be nice. Why don't we grab a bite? I'm famished."

In harmony the two women walked from the lab and headed to lunch. Eric, who was heading in search of Horatio, saw them leave together and wondered out loud, "Just what are they up to?"


	8. Predators

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I just wanted to get that disclaimer out there. I do own any characters I have created.

I love reviews, and I read them all. Thanks for your suggestions, positive feedback and encouragement. Since this is my first fan fic, I really do appreciate all of it. Please enjoy the next stage of our journey...

Predators

Sitting at the small table, Calleigh felt a bit like a rabbit must when it realizes that it's in the direct sight of a predator. She and Elizabeth had left the lab in search of a restaurant; and, as luck would have it, a small outdoor café nearby had an available table. As soon as the hostess had seated them Elizabeth had leaned back in her chair and promptly lit a cigarette, all the while studying the blonde woman with an inscrutable gaze. Finally, after five very uncomfortable minutes, she turned her gaze to the menu without as much as a single word. Calleigh, not sure what the game was, decided to play it by ear and turned to her menu, as well.

Studying the menu, Elizabeth took a drag on her cigarette and blew smoke rings as she thought back on the phone call she had made last night. After awakening to find the entire house dark and a sleeping Eric with his arm wrapped around her, she had carefully left the bed without waking him and walked out to the deck, grabbing her cell phone on the way out the door. She quickly paged through the numbers until she found the right one, and even though it was past midnight, he still answered on the second ring.

"_Gautreaux__," answered the sleepy voice at the other end of the line._

"_Hi, Jack. How's the spy game?" Elizabeth asked in greeting, the smile hovering on her lips evident in her voice._

"_Hey, beautiful, it's good to hear your voice. When're you coming home?" The man on the other end of the phone replied, a faint Cajun accent present in his voice._

"_Soon, I'll be back as soon as I close this case." She paused to light a cigarette and continued, "Jack, I need a favor."_

"_Anything, just ask. Your wish is my command," he said in a sardonic tone._

"_I need some deep background on a Miami CSI; it needs to be done quietly and quickly. Start in Louisiana."_

_Elizabeth could hear Jack scribbling notes as she spoke. She had known him since her training days at the FBI Academy. They had met when he had come from Langley to lecture the trainees on counter-terrorism techniques. He was a good man, and generally had no trouble finding anything she wanted or needed him to find whether it was legal or not. His contacts in the intelligence community had been invaluable to her before she had begun working with the BAU, and she still used them occasionally now._

"_What are you up to, Beth?" He waited for a response, knowing her well enough to realize she wouldn't answer the question. Finally he sighed resignedly and said, "Give me the name, and I'll get what you need before noon tomorrow."_

"_Thanks, I owe you one. The name is Calleigh Duquesne." She curled up like a cat in the big chair and imagined his handsome face in her mind's eye. His ice blue eyes had always been her favorite feature. She decided to throw him a bone and said, "I'm taking care of someone important to me, Jack. It won't take long; I promise I'll be home soon."_

"_You better, or I'm coming down there. I hope this is a part of those loose ends we discussed? I still can't believe you left while I was on assignment," he replied, frustration evident in his tone. He softened his voice and said, "I miss you, Beth."_

_She smiled into the phone. His faint accent was always more pronounced when his emotions were heightened. "Me too," she replied. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," she said quietly and ended the connection._

_As good as his word, he had called her by noon with a full report. The information had answered her questions and had set her mind at ease. Once she had gotten him off the phone she had gone in search of Calleigh, intending to talk to her about Eric._

After a silence that felt like it had gone on forever, Elizabeth finally leaned towards her lunch companion and gave a predatory smile. "So, tell me, Calleigh," she asked slyly, "how long have you been in love with Eric?"

Calleigh, who had finally begun to relax, was not expecting a frontal assault. Surprise at the very direct question caused her to begin choking on the water she had just tried to swallow. She coughed and gasped until her face turned crimson but finally was able to take a deep breath. Composing herself, she turned to Elizabeth, who was again giving her that inscrutable stare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she finally replied. Even to her own ears, she knew she didn't sound very convincing.

"Calleigh, let me give you a bit of advice, don't try to bullshit someone who makes their living studying human behavior. It took me all of two seconds to know when I saw you talking to Eric in the lab the other night. Your conversation at the crime scene yesterday was particularly telling. I know you are in love with Eric, and I know he is gone over you. So, really, I just have one question."

Nervous green eyes were scanning the restaurant, looking everywhere except at the FBI Agent sitting across from her. She kept waiting for Elizabeth to ask her question, but the silence stretched out until it became uncomfortable. "What's that?" she finally felt compelled to ask.

"What's stopping the two of you from acting on this?"

"There's a lab policy for one thing, and we work together for another." Calleigh replied flippantly, never guessing that her response had validated the other woman's theory. Finally realizing what she had just done, the blonde woman put her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked mortified at what had come out of her mouth. Finally regaining her composure, she smiled sheepishly at her lunch companion and said, "I just bet you're hell in an interrogation, aren't you? I can't believe you got me to admit that."

The brunette cocked her head to the side and gave a satisfied grin, "It's what I do. Let's just say this; I'm not going to interfere anymore. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to get his heart broken. I've known him for almost fifteen years, and we've been through a lot together. I want you to know something, though, Eric and I love each other and always will, but we aren't _in love_ with each other. I'm sure you appreciate the difference."

Understanding was dawning in Calleigh's green eyes, and the relief that appeared was almost desperate. "Thanks for telling me. I want to take it to the next level with Eric; it's nice to know that he'll be receptive, because I don't relish making an ass of myself in front of my best friend."

Elizabeth snorted in amusement at that response and shook her head. "You know what? I think we've got more in common than we both realized."

The two women stared at each other. Golden eyes met emerald green ones, and they began to laugh together; the idea that Eric's first love and his current one were so similar, finally had them in hysterics as the waiter appeared at their table to take their orders.

* * *

"_Look at the two of them. They sit and they laugh. They're so careless that they don't even know I followed them here. What kind of police officers are they? Maybe it's time I show them…"_

"Hi, I'm glad you called me for lunch. I love this restaurant, and the house is so empty when your brother is out of town on business."

He turned his heated gaze from Calleigh and Elizabeth and smiled at the obviously pregnant blonde being seated by the waiter. He said, "Anna, I'm so glad you could come." He smiled and grasped her small hand in his larger calloused one. "It's been ages since we last had lunch together. My brother has a bad habit of keeping you all to himself."

* * *

Lunch ended up being a very pleasant occasion for both Elizabeth and Calleigh. The former because she was assured that Eric was in love with someone who would take care of him, and the latter because she was relieved that she hadn't missed out on her chance after all. Laughter had been only moments away during the entire hour as Elizabeth had entertained Calleigh with stories from her and Eric's college days. They were waiting for their check when Elizabeth's FBI senses began to tingle. She turned to Calleigh and asked,

"Do you get the feeling we're being watched? I have a terrific scumbag alert system, and right now it's going off.

Calleigh considered the question for a minute and glanced slowly around the restaurant, looking for anyone acting strangely. She turned back to Elizabeth and said, "I don't see anyone doing anything suspicious, but what do you think?"

While waiting for a response, Calleigh watched as her companion's mood changed in the blink of an eye. The fun-loving, laughing woman she had just spent the last hour with was gone, and in her place was a stranger. Elizabeth's eyes turned cold and calculating as she studied the restaurant patrons, considering each man in turn. Her gaze landed on a nondescript man sitting with a beautiful blonde who was approximately five to six months pregnant. Without answering the question, she grabbed the check and stood up.

"Let's get back to the lab; I need to go over that A/V footage again." Elizabeth walked slowly to the counter to pay the check and on her way walked right by the pregnant blonde's table. As she passed by, she noted the name of the business on the pocket of her date's shirt, "Kendall's Custom Furniture".

As she handed her credit card to the cashier, she kept feeling eyes on her back. Rather than turn around and acknowledge them, she simply signed the receipt with a flourish and turned to Calleigh, "Shall we get back to work?"

* * *

Once they returned to the lab, Elizabeth grabbed Calleigh's arm and pulled her into the A/V room. Cooper was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't slow the two women down. In only moments they had the previous day's footage on the computer screen and were watching intently.

"Okay.," the blonde CSI said, "Who exactly are we looking for?"

Her brunette counterpart didn't even take her eyes from the screen when she replied, "Give me a couple of seconds, and I'll show you."

She continued to fast-forward through image after image until she found the one she was looking for. In another second she had frozen the screen and turned to Calleigh with a victorious glint in her eyes.

"Do you see anyone familiar here?" she asked.

Calleigh, who was staring at the footage, looked at Elizabeth in amazement, her green eyes wide. "He was in the restaurant at lunch. He was sitting by the window with… Oh my God... with a pregnant blonde woman!"

On their way to DNA, Eric and Horatio were walking by A/V and heard the excitement coming from the room. In curiosity, they crowded into the small space to see what the commotion was about. They found the two women staring alternately at each other and the man on the screen as the printer spat the image out.

Horatio grabbed the picture before either woman could make a move. He studied the image, but didn't see anything particularly interesting about the man. He finally cleared his throat and looked at Elizabeth expectantly. She stared back, her golden eyes locked with his blue ones, both at an impasse.

He finally asked in exasperation, "Who exactly do we have here, ladies?'

At his question the two women looked at each other, then turned their twin gazes to both of the men in the room. They smiled in unison, and said, "We found a suspect."


	9. Answers

I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. Sorry this has been so long in coming; real life has been calling me. Thanks for all of the positive reviews. Please enjoy...

Chapter 9: Answers

"Here… catch!" Eric turned just in time to see the keys sailing through the air towards him. With a flick of his wrist, he reached out and snatched them out of the air. He laughed as he heard the comment that had trailed the keys, "If you forget the Mongolian Beef, don't bother coming back!" He walked outside into the fading sunshine and headed towards Elizabeth's car. He loved that car, a vintage 1965 Ford Mustang, and had been only too happy to drive it to work that morning. Jumping into the red convertible, he revved the powerful engine and shot out of the parking lot.

* * *

Relieved to have another tough day behind her, Calleigh sat down on her sofa and put her feet up on the coffee table with a groan of relief. Reaching across to the table beside her, her hand found the wineglass. Putting it to her lips, she closed her eyes in appreciation for the rich, deep taste of the merlot in her glass. Laying her head back against the cushions she went back over the events of her day.

The convenience store shooting was closed, thanks to Elizabeth's profile. Since she had known to concentrate on the employees, Calleigh had been able to save hours of valuable time. It had been one of the part-time clerks who owed a local drug dealer money. Three people dead and an 18 year old kid's life ruined for $150. Calleigh felt regret over the wasted lives. She didn't usually over-analyze the outcomes of her cases, but since she had been spending so much time trying to figure out exactly what she wanted from her life, she saw no reason to only confine her self-analysis to her personal life.

Her lunch with Elizabeth had given new hope to her desire to start future with Eric, but before she could move forward in that direction, she needed to put her past with Jake to bed. Calleigh nervously ran her hands through her hair and wished fervently that she could avoid the discussion that was coming. It was one thing to break-up with someone who had done something to deserve it, but Jake had been so wonderful to her. He had given her space to get to know him once again, and had taken her to Antigua on her first real vacation in, who knew how many years. Their time together had been special, and Calleigh finally admitted to herself that, if not for her feelings for Eric, she would probably stay with Jake for the long haul. It wasn't fair to Jake, though; she didn't love him the way he did her. And this procrastinating was getting her nowhere; she knew that she couldn't put the inevitable off any longer. She finally decided to call Jake and see if he wanted to have drinks and talk.

Her cell phone rang beside her. She glanced at the caller ID and saw Jake's name in the window. Calleigh rolled her eyes at his timing; if she didn't know better she'd think he could read her mind.

"Hey, Jake," she answered. "How was your day?"

"Hey, Babe, you wanna get a drink, maybe have some dinner?"

Calleigh swirled the wine in her glass, watching the light play off the rich color of the liquid as she replied, "I was just going to call you. Why don't you pick me up in 20 minutes?"

Jake's smile was evident through the phone as he replied, "I'll see you then."

After she broke the connection between them, Calleigh slowly walked into her bedroom to get ready.

* * *

The afternoon sun had disappeared over the water and daylight had descended into twilight by the time Horatio finally made his way outside the lab and to the roof, his favorite spot to watch the city below. He stood by the ledge, hands on his hips, watching as the city's second shift came to life. He took a deep breath, enjoying the light, cool breeze and the faint sounds of a street fair somewhere distant.

Completely absorbed in his reverie, he didn't realize that he wasn't alone on the roof until the heady scent of jasmine wafted by and he heard the rustle of silk as the breeze ruffled the sensuous fabric. Horatio turned and saw Elizabeth sitting on the ledge just a few feet away. He couldn't explain it, but he felt glued to his spot at the ledge, so he simply watched her for a few moments. She had not yet noticed him standing there; her eyes were closed and her head was thrown backwards as she absorbed the night. Finally, she seemed to comprehend that she wasn't alone either. Slowly, she opened her eyes and scanned the roof area. As she turned her gaze to his, he felt just the slightest tingle of electricity between the two of them.

Elizabeth eyed Horatio cautiously. To cover her unease, she held his gaze as she lightly jumped down from the ledge and walked over to stand beside him.

"Hello, Horatio. How are you this evening?" She stared over the ledge, watching the people mill about below.

"Elizabeth," he paused, cocking his head and giving her a sideways stare, "what are you doing here so late?"

"Eric and I are running the financials for each victim, trying to find a common denominator between them. He went to pick up dinner so we can keep working." Elizabeth looked up at Horatio who was smiling at her. His blue eyes were sparkling with his good humor. She gave him a wide smile in return and continued, "If I know Eric, he'll get enough food for a small army. Why don't you join us for dinner and we can show you where we are."

* * *

Calleigh followed Jake into the Jade Dragon, her favorite Chinese restaurant. Egg rolls had seemed like a safe bet when Jake had asked what she was in the mood for. Butterflies filled her stomach as she considered her task. This was not going to be easy, but, in the end, it would be the best thing for both of them. She sat down in her chair and looked at Jake. He was sitting down across the table, his dark brown eyes intense with a look she couldn't decipher. She smiled nervously and asked,

"What are you staring at?"

He smiled and reached out for her hand. "I'm looking at the most beautiful woman in the room."

Calleigh took a deep breath to steady her nerves and attempted to steer the conversation in the right direction. "Jake, I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Wait a second." He interrupted her suddenly. "I have something to ask you first." Jake reached into his jacket and pulled out a small velvet box. Calleigh sat, frozen in her chair, as he opened the box and revealed a breathtaking diamond ring. He slowly twined his fingers with hers and said, "Calleigh, I was going to wait and go slow, but I realized something yesterday morning. I know in my heart that you are the only woman I will ever love. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and since you allowed me back into your life a second time I can see all of my past mistakes so clearly. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and whatever children we are fortunate enough to welcome. I love you, and each day I'm with you I love you more. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

* * *

Eric walked into the Jade Dragon to pick up the food that he had ordered on the way over. He walked over to the counter and was making small talk with the hostess while he waited for his order to be brought out. The waitress had brought out two overflowing bags when he finally noticed Calleigh and Jake sitting at a corner table. He stood there stunned as he watched Jake pull out a ring. Eric's heart was in his throat as he watched Jake hand the ring to Calleigh. When she reached out to take it from him, he felt his heart break right in two.

Eric couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. He took a deep breath and tried to control the bile that was rising in his throat. The last thing he wanted to do was let her see that he was in the room, so he turned and mindlessly walked from the restaurant nearly plowing into Natalia who was meeting her sister, Anya, for dinner. Natalia could see the stricken expression on his face, so she turned around to watch him walk from the restaurant and get into a car she didn't recognize. Natalia bit her lip and felt just the slightest bit of concern as he gunned the motor and sped off without a backward glance.

Confused at what would have caused Eric's rather strange behavior, she looked within the dining area to see what could have possibly upset him that much. Nothing looked out of the ordinary until her gaze settled on Calleigh, who was holding a ring box in her hand. Natalia sat down in a nearby chair, the only thought in her mind was, "Oh, shit."

* * *

The moon was just beginning to rise, and Horatio was still sitting on the roof with Elizabeth who was smoking a cigarette. They had been talking shop when her cell phone interrupted their discussion.

She grabbed it and answered, "Finale."

Horatio grew concerned as she turned ghostly pale and dropped the cigarette she had been holding. He reached out a hand to steady her, but, before he could touch her, she held out a hand to keep him at bay. She snapped the phone closed with more force than necessary and turned to Horatio.

"That was Dade Memorial Hospital. Eric is in the ER. He had a car accident on his way back here. Can you please give me a ride over there? He was in my car."

* * *

Calleigh looked at Jake like he had just grown two heads. "Jake. We just got back together a few months ago. Are you really seriously asking me this?"

"Calleigh, I love you. I know I hurt you before, and I know I've still got a lot of work to do where that's concerned. Please, just think about it."

She took a deep breath and looked at the box in her hand. What was she doing? She had come here with the intention of breaking up; this was so _not_ in the game plan! "Jake, I …" Her cell phone started to vibrate. Ignoring it, she looked at Jake again. He was giving her the puppy dog eye look; the same one that had been working for him since the day they met. She gave him a small smile and felt tears prickle.

Jake knew Calleigh was scared of commitment, so he took a risk and said, "Babe, give it 24 hours before you answer. Please."

She nodded her agreement. At the very least, she owed him that much. She would not wear the ring. There was no way that Eric would understand that she was trying to spare Jake's feelings. Surely she could keep this quiet for 24 hours. "Okay, Jake, I'll do that for you. Can we please eat now? I'm starving."

Jake gave her the smile that had melted her heart all of those years ago. "You got it. " He motioned to a nearby waiter and proceeded to order a feast."

* * *

Elizabeth ran into the E.R. with Horatio hot on her heels. She saw a familiar face standing by the registration desk waiting for her. "_T__ío_ Carlos, what happened?"

Dr. Carlos Lopez stared into the eyes of his frantic niece. She was the image of his late sister; he put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said, "Eric's going to be fine, _Sobrina_. He has a severe concussion, some contusions, and facial lacerations. He was very lucky. The only possible complication is if the collision loosened the bullet fragment still in his head. We're going to do some tests to check on that possibility. Come on, I'll take you to his room."

Leaving Horatio standing in the waiting room, Elizabeth walked into the cubicle and sat down on the edge of the bed. Eric was dozing fitfully. She could see the ugly black sutures along his hairline, and the beginnings of a black eye. She put a gentle hand on his cheek to wake him. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar gaze watching him lovingly.

"Hi-ya, handsome," she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. "_T__ío_ Carlos called me. What happened, Eric?"

"I…well… Beth, I saw Calleigh and Jake at the Jade Dragon. She's engaged."

She sat stunned as he described the scene at the restaurant and the subsequent accident. Finally, Eric took a deep breath and reached for her hand. "Stay with me. I don't want to be alone."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment and imagined all of the trouble, both personal and professional, that staying would cause, but once she looked again at Eric she knew there was no other decision to make. He was distressed and in pain, and she knew there was no way she could walk away from him now. They had a past together; Eric had been there for her during some of the worst moments a person could experience. But now she could tell how serious this was; he needed her. Her decision made, she leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, laced her fingers with his and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."


	10. Moving Forward

Yes, I'm back! I'm sorry it's been so long between updates, but I promise not to leave it so long the next time. Okay, here's the disclaimer, I don't own CSI Miami or any of the characters. CBS has that honor and privilege. I hope you enjoy the next update in our journey. Good or bad, let me hear from you...

Moving Forward

_If going into the past was as easy as taking a step backward, we would never move forward. -- Nicole Valenica  
_

* * *

Elizabeth lay on the hospital bed next to Eric, listening to the deep, rhythmic sound of his breathing. He had finally fallen asleep once her uncle had finished all of his required tests. She lay in the dark, quiet room, grateful that Uncle Carlos had agreed to let her keep an eye on Eric and not have the nurse wake him every hour. Frustrated and unable to sleep anyway, she stared at the ceiling, reliving the last three hours in gruesome detail. Eric could have been killed tonight. He had been worrying about what he had seen in that restaurant, and had wrecked her damn car! Elizabeth felt an angry flush rise to her face. There was no denying it; she was pissed! She took a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to get a grip on her temper. All the while, two thoughts were filling her mind:

"What the hell had Calleigh Duquesne done and why had she done it?"

* * *

"Everything's gonna be okay." Calleigh kept repeating that mantra to herself as she grabbed some clothes from the closet. Her shift was beginning in exactly 45 minutes, and she had no earthly idea what she was doing. She had been running around the house trying to get ready to no avail. She couldn't seem to organize her thoughts, and, unbidden, her eyes once again moved to the small velvet box sitting on her dresser. She opened it and looked at the ring that lay within. It was an amazing piece of jewelry, and it boggled her mind that Jake had actually given it to her. Had the events of the previous night really happened? How had she started out with the intention of breaking up and ended up being proposed to? Where had this side of his personality come from? Had it always been there and had she just been too dense to notice? The more important question was how could she turn him down without breaking his heart?

First things first though, she had to get thorough her shift without anyone, _especially Eric,_ finding out about Jake's proposal. If the word got out then it would spread through the lab like wildfire. Calleigh grimaced at the thought while she brushed out the snarls a restless night had left in her hair. Well, she reasoned, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep her secret. She began to French-braid her shining blonde hair; she was almost finished before an idea came to mind. She smugly decided to spend the entire day hiding out in her lab. If no one saw or spoke to her, then there was no chance of a leak. She put the finishing touches on the braid and was finally satisfied with her appearance. Glancing at the clock, she grabbed her gun, purse and keys and headed for work.

The lab was bustling with activity when she arrived, but Calleigh immediately began looking for Eric's tall form. He was nowhere to be seen, and she frowned wondering if he had been called out earlier. She checked her mailbox and found a note from Horatio directing her and Ryan to take over the financials for the Bay Strangler victims. The note gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why would Horatio want her and Ryan to take over a case that Eric had been the lead CSI on?

Seeking answers, Calleigh went straight to the source but found Horatio's office empty and locked up tight. Concern began to wash over her, so she tried calling Eric. Her call went straight to his voicemail. Thirty minutes and five calls later Calleigh finally left a message for him to call. Concern kept gnawing at her gut, so she dialed Horatio's cell phone in a final attempt to get answers. The phone rang once, twice, then three times. Just when she thought that she was going to have to leave another message she heard,

"Horatio." He answered the phone sounding tired and harassed.

"It's Calleigh," she answered without preamble. "What's going on and where's Eric?"

* * *

Eric was currently sitting on the side of his hospital bed waiting for Elizabeth to finish the paperwork so he could finally go home. It had hours, but he had finished the tests that her uncle had ordered, and he had been able to get some rest. His head was still aching from the concussion, but he was relieved to be leaving the hospital. Once Dr. Lopez had been sure that the bullet fragment in his head had not been moved he had left Eric to rest. Elizabeth had stayed with him the entire night, finally curling up beside him in the hospital bed.

He could hear her in the hallway now arguing heatedly with her uncle in Spanish. He wanted to smile at her determination, but it still hurt too much. He was lucky, and moreover, he knew it. The bullet fragment hadn't been disturbed, and his only injuries were the concussion, a gash on his forehead from hitting the steering wheel, and various bruises. He took a deep breath and finally allowed himself to think about the reason for the accident.

He would never have run the red light if he hadn't been distracted by what he had seen in the restaurant. Jake had given Calleigh a ring, and he had watched her take it. If he hadn't seen it he wouldn't have believed it. It was reality, and Eric knew that he had to accept it. The only thing he wasn't sure of was if he could continue to work in the lab after Calleigh finally married Jake.

Last night as he had waited for the barrage of tests to be completed, he had decided that it might be time to start looking at his options. Just changing shifts wouldn't work since he would still have the whole situation shoved in his face every time he walked into the lab. As he kept going over his options, or lack of them, the thought had crept in the back of his mind that it might be time to consider actually leaving the lab completely. He could always go back to Rescue, but he loved working as a CSI. Surely there was someone out there who could use a crime scene investigator who could also dive.

The door opened; the noise startling Eric from his contemplation. He raised his eyes to the door to find Elizabeth walking back in with his release papers in her hands. She gave him a small smile and turned around to wave in the orderly bringing the wheelchair.

"You ready to go home?" She asked quietly, sensitive to his aching head.

"Oh yeah, let's get out of here."

* * *

Calleigh was frustrated. Horatio had not been very forthcoming when she had practically begged for information. All he would tell her was that Eric had been in a car accident and was being checked out. She had wanted to come to the hospital, but he had told her that she was needed in the lab and that He and Elizabeth would take care of Eric. Calleigh hadn't liked it, but she had finally given in. She and Ryan worked in the layout room, but she kept one eye on the elevator waiting for Elizabeth or Horatio to finally show up.

Her patience was rewarded half an hour later when the elevator dinged its arrival and Horatio exited followed by Elizabeth who had Eric leaning heavily on her shoulder. Calleigh followed their progress with her eyes and watched as the profiler got Eric settled in his lab then stepped out.

Calleigh glanced at Ryan and said, "I'll be right back."

Ryan nodded, not looking up from his laptop as he ran financials.

She walked down the hall, intending to step into the print lab and check on Eric and offer some sympathy when her arm was suddenly grabbed from the side. She flinched and turned, finding herself starring into golden eyes that were fairly snapping with rage.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Calleigh was mystified.

"Well, if it isn't Judas." Elizabeth's tone was fairly mocking. "I can't believe I trusted you. I'm only going to tell you this once; stay away from Eric. If you don't; well, I'll make you regret it."

Elizabeth let go of her arm and walked into the layout room, grabbing her laptop and bag. She then pushed past Calleigh and entered Eric's lab. She got his bag and helped him up. Calleigh stood there with a stricken expression on her face as the pair walked right by her. Eric was actively avoiding eye contact with her as they went back to the elevator and left the building. She continued to stand there as if she were rooted in place and tried to think about what could have possibly happened to make them behave this way.

* * *

Hours later Calleigh decided to take the bull by the horns and go by Eric's condo and try and talk with him about whatever was going on. She slowly walked up the path to his door, apprehension apparent in her every step. She carried a paper bag filled with goodies as a peace offering, and had a mind filled with questions.

Why hadn't he called her when he had the wreck? Why hadn't he at least called her this morning; he had to know that she'd be worried. She stood at the door, as still as a statue, trying to force herself to knock on the door. People had treated her strangely all day. Horatio had barely spoken to her, and Natalia wouldn't meet her eyes when they'd run into each other in the locker room.

She shook her head to and gripped her bag tighter as she knocked on the door. She waited, but when no one answered she got her emergency key out and unlocked the door. Thinking Eric might be asleep she crept inside the vestibule. The doors to the deck were open, and she could hear voices coming from outside. She quietly walked over to the door and peaked outside. She could see Eric's large hammock swinging gently and Elizabeth lying next to Eric, her head tucked under his chin and his arm around her shoulders. Calleigh immediately froze in place when she heard her name mentioned.

"Beth, I can't stay in the lab and watch as Calleigh marries Jake. I've been thinking about transferring back to Rescue. What do you think?"

Elizabeth sighed and replied, "I think you should do whatever you need to do. Why don't you come back to Virginia with me? I'm close to DC. You'd love the city; I do." She paused for a second. "Or, we could take a trip. I have so much leave time stored and it's been ages since we went anywhere together. Do you still have your passport?"

"Yeah, I've still got it."

Eric went silent for a few minutes and Calleigh turned to leave. As she walked back to the door in a daze she heard him say, "I'm sorry about your car…"

* * *

Calleigh drove back to the lab with her mind in turmoil. Why did Eric think she was marrying Jake? Could he have possibly seen Jake's proposal last night? Was that why he had wrecked the car? She shook her head violently to quiet the voices in her head and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned ghostly. She had to get to the bottom of this, but first things first. Frank was bringing in a suspect in the Strangler case. There was an employee at Kendall's Custom Furniture that they wanted to speak to. Each of the victims had placed an order at that furniture store recently, and this employee was the craftsman for each order.

Suddenly a thought came to Calleigh. Natalia had been acting strangely all day. Maybe she'd have answers about what Eric may or may not have seen. She made herself a promise to get answers from someone then maybe she could speak to Eric and explain things. Maybe…

* * *

"Thanks, H. I appreciate the time off. I'll be back by the end of the week. Elizabeth says that if you need anything to shoot her an email or her office will know how to reach her."

Eric hung up the phone and grabbed the bag he'd packed. He followed Elizabeth out the door, pausing only to stop and lock the door behind him. As he turned and walked towards his truck he wondered just what new adventure he might be heading for.


	11. Never Hurt

Well, I don't own CSI Miami. Those lucky stiffs at CBS do. I can't believe I've finally gotten to what feels like the end of this story. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and stuck with me through some LONG delays and when I got sidetracked. This chapter is for all of you!

ENJOY!

Never Hurt

_Love the heart that hurts you, but never hurt the heart that loves you. -- Vipin Sharma_

* * *

Frank sat in interrogation across from the craftsman from Kendall's Custom Furniture and studied his suspect. There was no other way to describe the man except as nondescript. He was of average height, a bit on the short side with light brown hair and hazel eyes. His expression gave nothing away as he waited for Calleigh to arrive for the interrogation.

Horatio stood outside the room and watched silently. Frank stood and exited the room, standing beside the lean, red-haired man.

"What've we got, Frank?" Horatio's tones were cool.

"There is something hinky about this guy. According to the documents that Wolfe found," Frank paused and studied his notes for a second, "Michael Cartwright works for a custom furniture company. Each of our victims had commissioned items for their nurseries, and this guy was the craftsman for each job."

"That's the link we've been looking for. It's circumstantial though. Do we have any direct evidence?"

"Boa Vista found some pictures of him having lunch with his sister-in-law; he was the employee working with each victim. Actually, we've got nothing yet. Where's the FBI Profiler? I'd have thought she'd be here for the questioning?"

"She's with Eric. Do we need her?"

Frank was frustrated, and it showed in his tone. "Horatio, we got _no direct evidence_. I think we're going to need a confession."

Horatio nodded and reached for his cell phone. As much as he hated to interrupt Eric's sick leave it was going to be unavoidable. Flipping rapidly through the phone he found his ex brother-in-law's number and dialed. The phone rang several times before Eric finally answered.

"_Delko."_

"We have a suspect in the Strangler case. Where are you and Agent Finale?"

"_Ah, H, we're about half an hour away right now. We were going to go out on the boat. Why?"_

"I hate to disrupt your sick leave, but I need you both here."

"_Gotcha, we'll be there ASAP."_

The line had gone dead and Horatio gave a slight smile before turning and walking towards his office.

Eric groaned and looked at Elizabeth. "H has a suspect and needs us back at the office."

The Profiler smirked. "It's a good thing I'm driving. Buckle your seatbelt." Elizabeth whipped the truck into a u-turn and began to speed in the opposite direction. "Too bad you don't have a dash light in here."

Eric took a deep breath and tried not to blanch as he watched her whip his baby in and out of traffic. He gripped the door handle as she narrowly missed clipping a panel truck while running a red light. His voice was sharp as he snapped, "_Hey!_ Remember the guy next to you who was just in a horrific car accident!"

She looked sheepish and he heard a muttered apology, but she didn't slow down as she made her way back to the police department.

Fifteen minutes later the department personnel who were entering and exiting the parking lot were treated to the sight of Delko's precious truck careening into the parking lot and stopping suddenly, tires squealing, in his appointed parking place.

Eric practically jumped from the truck, headache be damned, as he berated his companion. "_Jesus Christ, Beth!_ Where the hell did you get your driver's license…out of a cereal box? I've ridden with cabbies that didn't scare me as much as you just did!" His scolding tone was negated by the smile on his face as she openly laughed at him. They entered the building and headed directly towards Horatio's office in anticipation of seeing the suspect in the Bay Strangler case.  


* * *

Calleigh had spent a long time thinking and soul searching as she made her way back from Eric's condo, and she knew that she had to put an end to the whole engagement fiasco. With that goal in mind, she grabbed her cell phone and called Jake to meet her at the fountain in the park near the PD. She felt a twinge of guilt at how eager he was to hear from her and how readily he agreed to meet her.

* * *

Jake had gotten to the park early. He was sitting on pins and needles waiting for her to arrive. Jake just knew that she was going to accept. When he finally saw her approach he smiled and waved. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he looked into the face of the woman he loved. Calleigh wasn't smiling, and he felt a twinge of nervousness as he waited for her to begin.

Fifteen minutes later Jake felt like he had been gut shot. The meeting had definitely not gone as he had hoped. He stared at Calleigh with a look of disbelief on his face and a ring box in his hand. She was walking away from him; her long blonde hair flowing behind her and her graceful stride carrying her further and further away. Had she really said it? Had she actually told him that their relationship was over? He hadn't wanted to hear it, to believe it, so he had tried to grab her hand. She had gently explained that while she appreciated his proposal and would always care about him she wasn't in love with him. Jake had tried to interrupt, but she had ignored his protests and told him that for two people to marry they should love each other madly. Jake had tried once more to stop her, but finally realized that it was a useless exercise. His Calleigh was stubborn and headstrong. If she had made up her mind then that was it. He sat on the bench and watched her walk away. His heart was in shreds, but he was tough. Jake Berkley was a survivor.

* * *

As she slowly walked back towards the police department, Calleigh felt conflicted. She was relieved to have the whole break-up conversation over with, but she also felt the cold hand of regret. Jake had been her first love and had been the first man who had actually wanted to marry her. He would always have a piece of her heart, but she knew that he wasn't her future. She smiled inwardly; Eric was, and eventually, they would find their way to each other, she just knew it.

* * *

David Cartwright wasn't worried. If these cops had anything to hold him on he would have been booked already. They had read him his rights, and he had waived his right to an attorney. He was certain that they were fishing, so he resolved to keep his cool and wait them out. He knew that he'd left no evidence behind, so without a confession they were just shit out of luck. He gave a smirk to himself and watched the people as they passed by the door.

Elizabeth and Horatio stood outside the interrogation room and studied the suspect. He had not moved, and except for a strange smile hadn't changed his facial expression. She turned and looked up as she asked, "How do you want to play this?"

Horatio glanced down at Elizabeth before replying, "Let's play it by ear and see what we get from him."

She nodded her assent as the pair walked into the room and sat across from the nondescript man. Horatio cocked his head to the side and gave a hard stare from piercing blue eyes. "Mr. Cartwright, you waived your right to a lawyer, is that correct?"

The other man nodded his head and said, "I don't need a lawyer."

Horatio replied, "You have a very interesting connection to the Bay Strangler case."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I have nothing to say; so either charge me or release me."

Horatio was surprised at the nonchalance in the man's tone but masked it well. "Is that the way you really want to play this?"

"Charge me or release me." His tone was bland as if he was uninterested in the proceedings taking place.

Elizabeth had been sitting quietly watching the body language of the suspect and leaned back in her chair to consult a file. She finally decided to wade in and locked eyes with the suspect before asking in a deceptively sweet tone. "Tell me about your brother."

Cartwright was confused at the sudden change in topic and turned his attention to the dark-haired woman sitting across from him. My brother? What does he have to do with anything?"

Eve kept her tone light and her expression blank as she replied, "Yes, your brother…the famous Jonathan Cartwright. Businessman extraordinaire…rich, successful, beautiful wife…yeah, him. Tell me about him."

My brother and I barely speak. He's too busy for family."

"Really…hmmm, that's very interesting. Tell me, how often do you and his wife spend time together?"

"I don't see Anna."

"You don't? Now that's very interesting." Elizabeth gave a shark's smile before continuing, her tone harder now. "I find that hard to believe since I saw you with her just yesterday." She pulled out a surveillance photo from an ATM camera showing Cartwright exiting the restaurant with his sister in law. She gave a silent thank you to the persistence of Natalia Boa Vista who had found this particular photo.

"Do you know what else I find interesting?"

Cartwright was now watching her warily; Horatio had taken to standing against the wall, his sunglasses in hand as he watched the interrogation.

"What?"

Like a shark, she scented blood. "I find it interesting that you and your brother are twins, but you really got the short end of the stick in all of the ways that matter. He's taller, handsome, successful, and married to a beautiful woman. In fact, didn't Anna meet you first? I'll bet that as soon as she met your brother the first time she dropped you like a hot potato!"

Anger had seeped into Cartwright's voice. "NO! He _stole_ her from me!"

Horatio finally stirred himself to ask, "Is that why you chose pregnant women who looked like the girl your brother stole from you?"

"Huh, what?" Confusion flashed across the suspect's face as he suddenly looked at Horatio.

Not giving him a chance to think or formulate a response, Elizabeth quickly interjected, "You wanted to punish your brother, didn't you? Were you working up to killing his wife next?"

"No…I…no!"

Horatio looked at Elizabeth and smirked. He went for the kill. "Maybe you wanted to kill your brother, but you were just too weak to. Is that why you had to attack pregnant women? They're weak and can't fight back. Did it make you feel like a man?"

Cartwright's face turned red and he jumped up from his chair. "I'm not weak! I showed the world that I'm a god. I control life and death. My brother is…a NOBODY! I'll show you I'm not weak…"

He took two steps towards Elizabeth, but before he could get any further he was stopped by Frank and another deputy who slammed him into the table and snapped handcuffs on his wrists.

Horatio put one hand in the small of Elizabeth's back and gave her a gentle push from the interrogation room. "Nicely done."

"Not too shabby yourself, Horatio."

As soon as they reached the general area there was a smattering of applause before people returned to their offices to work. Horatio and Elizabeth disappeared into his office to call the FBI and finish any paperwork needed to close out her part of the case.  


* * *

Eric found himself at loose ends, sitting in his lab, while for her to finish. He had watched her in action, and had been impressed with how easily she worked with his supervisor. He had been contemplating his future and what he might want to do when he heard a noise at the door. He turned to find Calleigh standing there staring at him with an unreadable expression in her emerald green eyes.

His voice, when he finally spoke was quiet. "Hey, Cal."

She spoke quickly to get it out. "I'm not engaged to Jake!"

Eric felt a spark of hope ignite in his chest as he asked, "What? I saw you take the ring from him."

"I never told him yes. I don't love Jake. I gave the ring back to him today."

Calleigh had been inching closer to Eric and finally put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I…"

He smiled and said, "I know…me too."

"Can we start over?" Her tone was hesitant but hopeful.

Eric finally gave her a full smile and replied, "Yeah…I'd like that."

* * *

Elizabeth had been looking for Eric so they could leave when she saw Calleigh enter his lab. She stood out of sight and listened to the conversation. Once she heard Calleigh's explanation she smiled to herself. It was nice to know that she hadn't misjudged the woman. It was time to go back home. With that thought in mind she walked into the lab and gave a serene look to the couple standing by the  
counter.

"Eric, I'm finished with my wrap up here. Can you give me a ride back to your condo. I need to pack and run by my grandparent's house to say good bye and make sure they'll keep an eye on Egypt. My team is meeting me with the jet; we have a case in Los Vegas next."

Eric gave a rueful shake of his head. "I can't believe you wrapped it up that fast. How did you know all that stuff about the perp?"

"I didn't."

Calleigh did a double take, "You were bluffing?"

Elizabeth smirked. "I had my profile. That was all the ammo I needed…well that and a partner who would back my play just like Horatio did."

"Beth, I still can't drive…my head…remember?"

Calleigh piped in, "I'll drive. How long do we have?"

"The jet should be here in about two hours. That's just enough time for me to pack, run see my family and get to the airport. I'd appreciate the ride, thanks."

The two CSIs and the Profiler left the building together. Elizabeth watched Eric and Calleigh out of the corner of her eye. The pair was walking very close together, and Elizabeth could feel no tension between then. Eric was going to be just fine; she was certain of that. It really was time to go home.  


* * *

Eric had mixed emotions as he watched the group of FBI agents laugh as they unloaded Elizabeth's luggage from the Hummer. She had spent ten minutes hugging and laughing with her team before they even got around to putting her belongings on the plane. Finally everyone but her boarded the plane. She turned back to Eric and Calleigh.

"Well…"

Eric laughed. "Yeah, I know how you hate good-byes."

She looked up into his eyes and said, "How 'bout…"See you soon?"

He chuckled. "Will it be another eight years?"

"Who knows… Well, I have to come back to get my cat at least."

"Well then, Beth…I'll see you' soon."

He pulled her close for a tight hug. She closed her eyes remembering all of the good times and knew that for her and Eric the past was finished. "I love you. Eric Delko. If you ever need me for anything...just call."

"I love you too, Beth. That's one thing that will never change. Take care of yourself."

She turned to walk to the plane and suddenly turned back around to say, "Always."

He watched her board the plane and saw it taxi to the runway for takeoff. As it took to the skies he turned to the woman standing by his side. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers together. He knew that the past was done, but the future was just beginning.

_fin_


End file.
